Single‐cell transcriptomic analysis of small and large wounds reveals the distinct spatial organization of regenerative fibroblasts

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Single‐cell transcriptomic analysis of small and large wounds reveals the distinct spatial organization of regenerative fibroblasts Via Experimental Dermatology Abstract Wound induced Hair Follicle Neogenesis (WIHN) has been an important model to study hair follicle regeneration during wound repair. However, the cellular and molecular components of the dermis that make large wounds more regenerative are not fully understood. Here, we compare and contrast recently published scRNA‐seq data of small scarring wounds to wounds that regenerate in hope to elucidate the role of fibroblasts lineages in WIHN. Our analysis revealed an over‐representation of the newly identified upper wound fibroblasts in regenerative wound conditions, which express the retinoic acid binding protein Crabp1. This regenerative cell type shares a similar gene signature to the murine papillary fibroblast lineage, which are necessary to support hair follicle morphogenesis and homeostasis. RNA‐velocity analysis comparing scarring and regenerating wounds revealed the divergent trajectories toward upper and lower wound fibroblasts, and that the upper populations were closely as sociated to the specialized dermal papilla. We also provide analyses and explanation reconciling the inconsistency between the histological lineage tracing and the scRNA‐seq data from recent reports investigating large wounds. Finally, we performed a computational test to map the spatial location of upper wound fibroblasts in large wounds which revealed that upper peripheral fibroblasts might harbor equivalent regenerative competence as those in the center.. Overall, our scRNA‐seq reanalysis combining multiple samples suggests that upper wound fibroblasts are required for hair follicle regeneration and that papillary fibroblasts may migrate from the wound periphery to the center during wound re‐epithelialization. Moreover, data from this publication is made available on our searchable web‐resource: https://skinregeneration.org/ . View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.