Skin cells migrate through confined spaces by switching identity in the lab
When a wound heals, skin cells must squeeze through tiny gaps. A new lab model shows how they manage this without losing function.
Researchers built a system to study this process. They placed skin cells called keratinocytes, the most abundant cell type in the outer skin layer, on a membrane pierced with 3-micrometre pores. The study, published in eLife, shows that keratinocytes can pass through such narrow openings by temporarily switching their cell identity. They adopt a different cell state known as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and then revert to their original properties, a process called mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), on the other side.
Three compartments, three cell states
The result was a three-part tissue model: stratified cells above the membrane, cells in the EMT state inside the pores, and a newly formed stratified layer below. This three-part pattern did not form with larger pores. Live imaging also revealed that the cells did not move straight through. Instead, they moved back and forth in an oscillating pattern. Two proteins, Piezo1 and keratin 6, were found to play an inhibitory role in how cells entered and exited the narrow pores.
A model for wound healing
The researchers say their lab model reproduces key features of wound healing in skin. Non-cancerous cells can migrate through confined spaces by temporarily changing their identity, something that had previously been studied mainly in cancer cells. Whether this process unfolds in exactly the same way during wound healing in a living organism was not established in this study, which is an experimental lab model.
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