Gene regulation by uniaxial tension in fibroblasts

Abstract

Mechanical forces play vital roles in tissue homeostasis. Fibroblast is responsible for producing much of ECM material in response to external mechanical cues. Previous studies have shown that the tensile stress alters ECM-related gene expressions in fibroblast during wound healing process. As growth factors like NGF and TGF are also known to play a significant role in wound healing process, we investigate the effects uniaxial tensile stress on the regulation of NT factors and related receptor proteins as well as TGF. Both NT and TGF exhibit tensile stress dependent behavior which could lead to enhancement of wound healing. We also studied the expression of ECM related genes. Collagen and the collagenase, MMP1, show decrease in its expression but TIMP1, a inhibitor of MMP, did not response to uniaxial stretch. Our results may indicate that the induction of ECM related gene is followed by regulation of NT and TGF when cells are subject to uniaxial tension in fibroblasts.