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Updated: May 11, 2026
08:01
Cutaneous Surgical Denervation: A Method for Testing the Requirement for Nerves in Mouse Models of Skin Disease
Published on: June 26, 2016
Sensory nerve-secreted factors regulate basal keratinocyte function in vitro.
A Srivastava1, A Noble1, S L Payne1
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Integrative Organismal Biology (Oxford, England)
|March 28, 2025
Summary
Sensory nerves influence skin cell behavior, impacting wound healing. Understanding nerve signals can lead to better treatments for non-healing skin wounds.
Area of Science:
- Dermatology
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Basal keratinocytes are crucial for skin barrier repair after injury.
- Peripheral sensory nerves play a role in wound healing, but mechanisms are unclear.
- Nerve-keratinocyte interactions in re-epithelialization require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of sensory nerves on keratinocyte function in vitro.
- To identify key factors secreted by dorsal root ganglia (DRG) that affect keratinocyte behavior.
- To understand the role of nerve-derived signals in cutaneous wound healing.
Main Methods:
- Keratinocytes were cultured with conditioned media from dorsal root ganglia (DRG) under homeostatic and post-wounding conditions.
- Proteomic analysis was used to characterize the secretome of cultured DRG.
- Keratinocyte migration, proliferation, and metabolic changes were assessed.
Main Results:
- DRG conditioned media modulated keratinocyte migration, proliferation, and phenotype.
- Proteomic analysis identified extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, and metabolic factors in the DRG secretome.
- DRG factors correlated with altered keratinocyte metabolism, including ATP production.
Conclusions:
- Sensory nerves provide critical microenvironmental cues that direct keratinocyte function during skin repair.
- DRG secretome contains factors influencing keratinocyte behavior essential for re-epithelialization.
- These findings advance understanding of cutaneous wound healing and may inform therapeutic development.
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