Published in Scientific reports
Wounds naturally produce electric signals which serve as powerful cues that stimulate and guide cell migration during wound healing. In diabetic patients, impaired wound healing is one of the most challenging complications in diabetes management. A fundamental gap in knowledge is whether diabetic wounds have abnormal electric signaling. Here we use...
Published in Nature communications
Weak electric fields guide cell migration, known as galvanotaxis/electrotaxis. The sensor(s) cells use to detect the fields remain elusive. Here we perform a large-scale screen using an RNAi library targeting ion transporters in human cells. We identify 18 genes that show either defective or increased galvanotaxis after knockdown. Knockdown of the ...
Published in The Journal of biological chemistry
Integrins are activated by signaling from inside the cell (inside-out signaling) through global conformational changes of integrins. We recently discovered that fractalkine activates integrins in the absence of CX3CR1 through the direct binding of fractalkine to a ligand-binding site in the integrin headpiece (site 2) that is distinct from the clas...
Published in Science Signaling
Published in Lab on a Chip
Published in Cell Biology International
Published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
In wound healing and development, large epithelial sheets migrate collectively, in defined directions, and maintain tight cell–cell adhesion. This type of movement ensures an essential function of epithelia, a barrier, which is lost when cells lose connection and move in isolation. Unless wounded, epithelial sheets in cultures normally do not have ...
Published in Stem cell research
Naturally-occurring, endogenous electric fields (EFs) have been detected at skin wounds, damaged tissue sites and vasculature. Applied EFs guide migration of many types of cells, including endothelial cells to migrate directionally. Homing of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) to an injury site is important for repair of vasculature and also for a...
Migration of epidermal stem cells (EpSCs) into wounds may play an important role in wound healing. Endogenous electric fields (EFs) arise naturally at wounds. Consistent with previous reports, we measured outward electric currents at rat skin wounds using vibrating probes. Topical use of prostaglandin E2 significantly promoted wound healing. Howeve...
