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. 2012 Oct;132(10):2469-2472.
doi: 10.1038/jid.2012.155. Epub 2012 May 24.

Sustained β-catenin activity in dermal fibroblasts is sufficient for skin fibrosis

Affiliations

Sustained β-catenin activity in dermal fibroblasts is sufficient for skin fibrosis

Emily J Hamburg et al. J Invest Dermatol. 2012 Oct.
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors state no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Nuclear β-catenin immunoreactivity in skin affected by localized scleroderma. Brightfield immunohistochemistry using anti-β-catenin antibody (BD Bioscience, 1:100) was performed on sections of affected skin from 4 localized scleroderma patients and normal skin from 4 healthy controls. (a) Representative images with insets showing detail from papillary dermis of healthy control and localized scleroderma affected skin. β-catenin-positive nuclei indicated by filled arrowheads. (b) Reticular dermis of control (representative image) and localized scleroderma skin that had fibroblasts in reticular dermis. (c) The percentage of nuclear β-catenin-positive fibroblasts in papillary and reticular dermis was calculated from 2–3 high-power fields for each sample. Scale bar length 50 µm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Characterization of fibrotic skin phenotype. (a) Immunofluorescence using anti-GFP antibody against YFP, P50 (Aves Labs, 1:250). epi, epidermis; hf, hair follicle. (b) H&E-stained skin at P4, P22, and P50. hd, hypodermis; adip, adipose. (c) P50 dermal and hypodermal thickness quantified by Photoshop measurement tool; n = 15 controls, 15 mutants. (d) Percentage of nuclear β-catenin-positive fibroblasts in P50 skin; n = 7 controls, 7 mutants; p=0.002. HDF, hypodermal fibrosis. (e) P22 cell proliferation assessed by anti-Ki67 immunofluorescence (Abcam 15580, 1:500); n = 3 controls, 3 mutants. (f) Hydroxyproline content per 5-mm punch biopsy of P50 and P100 control and mutant ventral skin. (g) Masson’s trichrome stain of P50 skin. (h) Anti-CTGF (Abcam 6992, 1:400) brightfield immunohistochemistry performed on P21 skin (n=5 each controls and mutants). Arrowheads indicate CTGF-positive cells. (i) Brightfield immunohistochemistry of endothelial cells in P50 skin (anti-MECA-32 antibody, Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank, 1:10). All corresponding images were photographed at same magnification. Quantification of marker expression based on 3 high-power fields/sample.

References

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