TY - JOUR
T1 - Involucrin-positive keratinocytes demonstrate decreased migration speed but sustained directional migration in a DC electric field
AU - Obedencio, Glenmar P.
AU - Nuccitelli, Richard
AU - Isseroff, Roslyn Rivkah
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - When skin is wounded, keratinocytes from the cut edges of the epidermis migrate over the wounded area to re-epithelialize the wound. It is not clear which cells of the epidermis have the capacity to migrate and contribute to this re-epithelialization: the less differentiated cells of the basal layer, or the more differentiated, involucrin-positive suprabasilar cells. Here we demonstrate that both involucrin-negative and involucrin-positive cells are able to respond to a directional cue for migration with sustained directional migration. When cultured keratinocytes are exposed to a physiologic DC electric field of 100 mV per mm as a cue to guide migration (galvanotaxis) they migrate toward the cathode with equivalent directionality. The involucrin-positive cells, however, display mean migration speeds approximately one half (23.6 μm per h) of the mean rate achieved by involucrin-negative cells (46.5 μm per h). Despite their decreased migration rates, involucrin-positive cells appear to possess an intact mechanism for sensing a directional signal, transducing that signal, and responding with sustained directional migration. Because electric fields are endogenous in skin wounds, it is likely that both the basal, involucrin-negative cells and the involucrin-positive suprabasilar cells respond to this cue with directional migration. The new observation that involucrin-positive cells can indeed migrate suggests that these cells may also contribute to wound re- epithelialization in vivo.
AB - When skin is wounded, keratinocytes from the cut edges of the epidermis migrate over the wounded area to re-epithelialize the wound. It is not clear which cells of the epidermis have the capacity to migrate and contribute to this re-epithelialization: the less differentiated cells of the basal layer, or the more differentiated, involucrin-positive suprabasilar cells. Here we demonstrate that both involucrin-negative and involucrin-positive cells are able to respond to a directional cue for migration with sustained directional migration. When cultured keratinocytes are exposed to a physiologic DC electric field of 100 mV per mm as a cue to guide migration (galvanotaxis) they migrate toward the cathode with equivalent directionality. The involucrin-positive cells, however, display mean migration speeds approximately one half (23.6 μm per h) of the mean rate achieved by involucrin-negative cells (46.5 μm per h). Despite their decreased migration rates, involucrin-positive cells appear to possess an intact mechanism for sensing a directional signal, transducing that signal, and responding with sustained directional migration. Because electric fields are endogenous in skin wounds, it is likely that both the basal, involucrin-negative cells and the involucrin-positive suprabasilar cells respond to this cue with directional migration. The new observation that involucrin-positive cells can indeed migrate suggests that these cells may also contribute to wound re- epithelialization in vivo.
KW - Cell motility
KW - Galvanotaxis
KW - Wound current
KW - Wound healing
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U2 - 10.1046/j.1523-1747.1999.00763.x
DO - 10.1046/j.1523-1747.1999.00763.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 10571745
AN - SCOPUS:0032709224
VL - 113
SP - 851
EP - 855
JO - Journal of Investigative Dermatology
JF - Journal of Investigative Dermatology
SN - 0022-202X
IS - 5
ER -