Dermal fibroblast morphology is affected by stretching and not by C48/80

Both stretching and C48/80 have been hypothesized to cause disruption of cell-matrix adhesions and thereby affect the dynamics of fluid balance in tissues. We investigated the effect of sinusoidal stretching and/or C48/80 on the morphology of fibroblasts in skin excised from the backs of Wistar-Möller rats in order to assess how these stimuli affect cellular interactions in tissues. Tissue samples were either soaked in Krebs' buffer with and without C48/80, or sinusoidally stretched (20% strain) in buffer with and without C48/80. Control skin was fixed immediately after excision. All tissues were processed for transmission electron microscopy. Morphometric analyses demonstrated that sinusoidal stretching of the skin results in the retraction or disruption of fibroblast cytoplasmic extensions, rounding up of the cell bodies and subsequently in increased tissue water content. C48/80 had no apparent effect on fibroblast morphology and adherence in tissues.