Anatomical diversity of dermis in homeostasis and wound repair

Skin has distinct characteristics depending on the anatomical site; however, the cell and molecular differences, and their functional implications, have been little described. RNA-sequencing of healthy adult mouse skin from the abdomen, back, and face/cheek has revealed that dermis from different sites is distinct, and that this aligns with their diverse embryonic origins (abdominal dermis develops from lateral plate mesoderm, dorsal dermis from paraxial mesoderm, and cheek dermis from neural crest). The functional implications for wound repair are evident from the differences in extracellular matrix and cell migration observed in tissue and dermal fibroblasts from these sites, and the histological and transcriptional variations during a wound response. Overall design: 24 samples have been analysed by RNA-seq (total RNA): 4 mice for each of 3 anatomical sites (abdomen, back, cheek), and each mouse included a Day3 full-thickness 2mm punch-biopsy skin wound and an adjacent unwounded "paired" control.