Unique behavior of dermal cells from regenerative mammal, the African Spiny Mouse, in response to substrate stiffness

The African Spiny Mouse (Acomys spp.) is a unique outbred mammal capable of full, scar-free skin regeneration. In vivo, we have observed rapid reepithelialization and deposition of normal dermis in Acomys after wounding. Acomys skin also has a lower modulus and lower elastic energy storage than normal lab mice, Mus musculus. To see if the different in vivo mechanical microenvironments retained an effect on dermal cells and contributed to regenerative behavior, we examined isolated keratinocytes in response to physical wounding and fibroblasts in response to varying substrate stiffness. Classic mechanobiology paradigms suggest stiffer substrates will promote myofibroblast activation, but we do not see this in Acomys dermal fibroblasts (DFs). Though Mus DFs increase organization of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA)-positive stress fibers as substrate stiffness increases, Acomys DFs assemble very few αSMA-positive stress fibers upon changes in substrate stiffness. Acomys DFs generate lower traction forces than Mus DFs on pliable surfaces, and Acomys DFs produce and modify matrix proteins differently than Mus in 2D and 3D culture systems. In contrast to Acomys DFs "relaxed" behavior, we found that freshly isolated Acomys keratinocytes retain the ability to close wounds faster than Mus in an in vitro scratch assay. Taken together, these preliminary observations suggest that Acomys dermal cells retain unique biophysical properties in vitro that may reflect their altered in vivo mechanical microenvironment and may promote scar-free wound healing.