Reduction of fibroblast size/mechanical force down-regulates TGF-β type II receptor: implications for human skin aging.

ABSTRACT: The structural integrity of human skin is largely dependent on the quality of the dermal extracellular matrix (ECM), which is produced, organized, and maintained by dermal fibroblasts. Normally, fibroblasts attach to the ECM and thereby achieve stretched, elongated morphology. A prominent characteristic of dermal fibroblasts in aged skin is reduced size, with decreased elongation and a more rounded, collapsed morphology. Here, we show that reduced size of fibroblasts in mechanically unrestrained three-dimensional collagen lattices coincides with reduced mechanical force, measured by atomic force microscopy. Reduced size/mechanical force specifically down-regulates TGF-β type II receptor (TβRII) and thus impairs TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Both TβRII mRNA and protein were decreased, resul

SUBMITTER: Fisher GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4717276 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature