Lattice-patterned collagen fibers and their dynamics in axolotl skin regeneration

Rena Kashimoto; Saya Furukawa; Sakiya Yamamoto; Yasuhiro Kamei; Joe Sakamoto; Shigenori Nonaka; Tomonobu M Watanabe; Tatsuya Sakamoto; Hirotaka Sakamoto; Akira Satoh

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104524

Lattice-patterned collagen fibers and their dynamics in axolotl skin regeneration

iScience. 2022 Jun 3;25(7):104524. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104524. eCollection 2022 Jul 15.

Authors

Rena Kashimoto¹, Saya Furukawa², Sakiya Yamamoto², Yasuhiro Kamei³, Joe Sakamoto³, Shigenori Nonaka^{3

4}, Tomonobu M Watanabe^{5

6}, Tatsuya Sakamoto^{1

7}, Hirotaka Sakamoto^{1

7}, Akira Satoh⁸

Affiliations

¹ Division of Earth, Life, and Molecular Sciences, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
² Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
³ National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB), National Institutes for Natural Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan.
⁴ Exploratory Research Center for Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institutes for Natural Sciences, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan.
⁵ Laboratory for Comprehensive Bioimaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
⁶ Department of Stem Cell Biology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan.
⁷ Ushimado Marine Institute (UMI), Okayama University, Setouchi 701-4303, Japan.
⁸ Research Core for Interdisciplinary Sciences (RCIS), Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.

Abstract

The morphology of collagen-producing cells and the structure of produced collagen in the dermis have not been well-described. This lack of insights has been a serious obstacle in the evaluation of skin regeneration. We succeeded in visualizing collagen-producing cells and produced collagen using the axolotl skin, which is highly transparent. The visualized dermal collagen had a lattice-like structure. The collagen-producing fibroblasts consistently possessed the lattice-patterned filopodia along with the lattice-patterned collagen network. The dynamics of this lattice-like structure were also verified in the skin regeneration process of axolotls, and it was found that the correct lattice-like structure was not reorganized after simple skin wounding but was reorganized in the presence of nerves. These findings are not only fundamental insights in dermatology but also valuable insights into the mechanism of skin regeneration.

Keywords: Animal physiology; Bioengineering; Physiology.