The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has discovered a new principle that will promote wound healing and regeneration by controlling the microenvironment of living tissues. It is expected to provide an important lead for the development of drugs for wound healing and research into fibrotic diseases and cancer.
The KRISS bioimaging team identified the mechanism of fibrosis involved in wound healing and regeneration through research using skin cells. Furthermore, we have presented a method to control fibrosis at a local site by mechanically and precisely controlling the microenvironment of the biological tissue surrounding a wound.
Fibrosis is a phenomenon in which biological tissues harden due to the secretion of collagen into the extracellular matrix surrounding cells, a representative example being the scab that forms on a wound. At normal levels it plays an important role in wound healing and regeneration, but if it is excessive it can lead to diseases that harden organs such as the liver, lungs and heart or autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma.
Because fibrosis occurs when fibroblasts differentiate into myofibroblasts, control of fibrosis requires understanding the in vivo environmental conditions under which this differentiation occurs.
KRISS researchers observed through an optical microscope that fibroblast differentiation was most active when the amount of elastin in the skin’s extracellular matrix was 20%. The normal level of elastin is 10% and as this level increases the elasticity of the biological tissue increases. This result demonstrates that changes in the composition of the surrounding microstructure are important in controlling the fibrosis phenomenon.
Results of the analysis of the microenvironment of the biological tissue in which fibrosis occurs. Left: microstructure of elastin and collagen observed with a scanning electron microscope Center: 3D distribution of elastin and collagen observed with a non-linear optical microscope Right: interaction between a cell and the extracellular matrix (elastin and collagen) observed with a scanning electron microscope Although this requires several experimental processes over several days, nonlinear optical microscopy imaging has the advantage of allowing direct imaging while maintaining the unique characteristics of biomolecules. Source: Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
Furthermore, through precise protein analyses, the research team identified proteins involved in regulating the mechanical elasticity of biological tissues and demonstrated experimentally that fibroblast differentiation can be promoted by regulating these proteins.
Existing research into fibrosis control has adopted a chemical method of adding growth factors such as EGF to cells to promote fibroblast differentiation. It is mainly used in wound plasters, regenerating creams, etc. On the other hand, this achievement is a method to control fibroblast differentiation by mechanically changing the elasticity of biological tissue in a local area. It is safer than existing methods because it can prevent unexpected chain reactions that growth factors can cause inside cells.
This was achieved by combining KRISS’s nonlinear optical imaging technology and precise protein analysis technology. Nonlinear optical imaging technology allows collagen in the sample to be observed without labeling and without staining, preventing even traces of sample from being damaged during the staining process. Precise protein analysis technology is a technology that can precisely quantitatively analyze proteins present in biological samples and provides information about intracellular proteins based on the elastin content in the sample.
This finding can be applied to the development of complementary drugs for wound healing by controlling the microenvironment of biological tissues and to research into treatments for related diseases such as liver fibrosis, lung fibrosis and cardiac fibrosis. Furthermore, the amount of elastin is known to affect the proliferation of cancer cells, so it is expected to contribute to research into controlling cancer growth.
Kim Se-hwa, head of the KRISS bioimaging team, explains biological tissues observed with a nonlinear optical microscope. Source: Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science
Kim Se-hwa, head of KRISS’s bio-imaging team, said, “This achievement is the fusion of KRISS’s unrivaled cutting-edge bio-measurement technology,” and added, “We will continue to expand our research in various sectors”. mechanisms of fibrosis using organ cells, not skin cells in the future.”
The research results were published online in October in the international academic journal “Biomaterials Research”.
논문명 : Time-sequential fibroblast-to-myobroblast transition in variable elastin 3D hydrogel environments using collagen networks
#Explanation of terminology
[1] Fibrosis: phenomenon in which the extracellular matrix, such as collagen, is secreted by activated fibroblasts. It may be viewed as the end result of persistent infections, autoimmune reactions, allergic reactions, exposure to chemicals and radiation, and reactions to physical injuries, and the phenomenon or stimulation essential for recovery from such stimulation may occur repeatedly or severely, or the fibrosis The process can become uncontrolled and, in some cases, lead to pathological phenomena.
[2] Cellular microenvironment: The chemical or mechanical microenvironment, including cell populations and the extracellular matrix surrounding cell populations.
[3] Fibroblast: Cell that synthesizes tissue components such as collagen to create a skeleton that supports cells. In healthy tissues, fibroblasts maintain tissue structure and are involved in wound healing.
[4] myofibroblast: cell with a phenotype intermediate between a fibroblast and a smooth muscle cell. It has been reported that differentiation is possible through various stimuli. It plays an important role in fibrosis in organs such as liver, lungs, etc. It plays a role in the regeneration of damaged tissue by producing extracellular matrix during the wound tissue healing process.
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2023-12-31 09:10:00
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