Human Xylosyltransferase I—An Important Linker between Acute Senescence and Fibrogenesis

oleh: Vanessa Schmidt, Justus Ohmes, Thanh-Diep Ly, Bastian Fischer, Anika Kleine, Cornelius Knabbe, Isabel Faust-Hinse

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-02-01

Deskripsi

The human xylosyltransferase isoform XT-I catalyzes the initial step in proteoglycan biosynthesis and represents a biomarker of myofibroblast differentiation. Furthermore, XT-I overexpression is associated with fibrosis, whereby a fibrotic process initially develops from a dysregulated wound healing. In a physiologically wound healing process, extracellular matrix-producing myofibroblasts enter acute senescence to protect against fibrosis. The aim of this study was to determine the role of XT-I in acute senescent proto-myofibroblasts. Normal human dermal fibroblasts were seeded in a low cell density to promote myofibroblast differentiation and treated with H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to induce acute senescence. Initiation of the acute senescence program in human proto-myofibroblasts resulted in a suppression of <i>XYLT</i> mRNA expression compared to the control, whereby the isoform <i>XYLT1</i> was more affected than <i>XYLT2</i>. Moreover, the XT-I protein expression and enzyme activity were also reduced in H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>-treated cells compared to the control. The examination of extracellular matrix remodeling revealed reduced expression of collagen I, fibronectin and decorin. In summary, acute senescent proto-myofibroblasts formed an anti-fibrotic phenotype, and suppression of XT-I during the induction process of acute senescence significantly contributed to subsequent ECM remodeling. XT-I therefore plays an important role in the switch between physiological and pathological wound healing.