The Role of Focal Adhesion Kinase in Keratinocyte Fibrogenic Gene Expression.

ABSTRACT: Abnormal skin scarring causes functional impairment, psychological stress, and high socioeconomic cost. Evidence shows that altered mechanotransduction pathways have been linked to both inflammation and fibrosis, and that focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a key mediator of these processes. We investigated the importance of keratinocyte FAK at the single cell level in key fibrogenic pathways critical for scar formation. Keratinocytes were isolated from wildtype and keratinocyte-specific FAK-deleted mice, cultured, and sorted into single cells. Keratinocytes were evaluated using a microfluidic-based platform for high-resolution transcriptional analysis. Partitive clustering, gene enrichment analysis, and network modeling were applied to characterize the significance of FAK on regulating keratin

SUBMITTER: Januszyk M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5618564 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature