Exploring mitochondrial metabolism of wild-type and diabetic mice skin explants using the Seahorse technology.

BACKGROUND: Skin wound healing is a complex mechanism which requires a lot of energy, mainly provided by mitochondrial respiration. However, little is known about the mitochondrial bioenergetics of mice skin. We sought to develop a microplate-based assay to directly measure oxygen consumption in whole mice skin with the goal of identifying mitochondrial dysfunction in diabetic skin using an extracellular flux. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different parameters were optimized to efficiently measure the oxygen consumption rate (OCR). First, the most pertinent skin side of wild-type mice was first determined. Then, concentrations of mitochondrial inhibitors were then optimized to get the best efficacy. Finally, punch sizes were modulated to get the best OCR profile. RESULTS: Dermis had the best metabolic activity side of the skin. Unlike the increased concentrations of carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP) and rotenone/antimycin A, which showed no improvement of these drugs' effects, varying the skin punch size was successful. Finally, type II diabetic (T2D) skin produced less ATP through mitochondrial metabolism and had a greater non-mitochondrial oxygen consumption than wild-type or type I diabetic (T1D) skin. CONCLUSION: Here we designed, for the first time, a reliable protocol to measure mitochondria function in whole mouse skin. Our optimized protocol was valuable in assessing alterations associated with diabetes and could be applied to future studies of pathological human skin metabolism.

PCPE-2 (procollagen C-proteinase enhancer-2): the NON-IDENTICAL twin of PCPE-1.

PCPE-2 was discovered at the beginning of this century, and was soon identified as a close homolog of PCPE-1 (procollagen C-proteinase enhancer 1). After the demonstration that it could also stimulate the proteolytic maturation of fibrillar procollagens by BMP-1/tolloid-like proteinases (BTPs), PCPE-2 did not attract much attention as it was thought to fulfill the same functions as PCPE-1 which was already well-described. However, the tissue distribution of PCPE-2 shows both common points and significant differences with PCPE-1, suggesting that their activities are not fully overlapping. Also, the recently established connections between PCPE-2 (gene name PCOLCE2) and several important diseases such as atherosclerosis, inflammatory diseases and cancer have highlighted the need for a thorough reappraisal of the in vivo roles of this regulatory protein. In this context, the recent finding that, while retaining the ability to bind fibrillar procollagens and to activate their C-terminal maturation, PCPE-2 can also bind BTPs and inhibit their activity has substantially extended its potential functions. In this review, we describe the current knowledge about PCPE-2 with a focus on collagen fibrillogenesis, lipid metabolism and inflammation, and discuss how we could further advance our understanding of PCPE-2-dependent biological processes.

Chronological aging impacts abundance, function and microRNA content of extracellular vesicles produced by human epidermal keratinocytes.

The disturbance of intercellular communication is one of the hallmarks of aging. The goal of this study is to clarify the impact of chronological aging on extracellular vesicles (EVs), a key mode of communication in mammalian tissues. We focused on epidermal keratinocytes, the main cells of the outer protective layer of the skin which is strongly impaired in the skin of elderly. EVs were purified from conditioned medium of primary keratinocytes isolated from infant or aged adult skin. A significant increase of the relative number of EVs released from aged keratinocytes was observed whereas their size distribution was not modified. By small RNA sequencing, we described a specific microRNA (miRNA) signature of aged EVs with an increase abundance of miR-30a, a key regulator of barrier function in human epidermis. EVs from aged keratinocytes were found to be able to reduce the proliferation of young keratinocytes, to impact their organogenesis properties in a reconstructed epidermis model and to slow down the early steps of skin wound healing in mice, three features observed in aged epidermis. This work reveals that intercellular communication mediated by EVs is modulated during aging process in keratinocytes and might be involved in the functional defects observed in aged skin.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway plays a central role in the cutaneous response to pollutants

Short- and long-term exposure to atmospheric pollution has significant health effects. The skin is the organ directly in contact with pollutants and is responsible for protection of the organism. Particulate matter (PM) such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the basis of certain pulmonary as well as dermatological complications. Pollution exacerbates certain illnesses such as atopic dermatitis and cancer, and it may also participate in delaying wound healing and in the occurrence of chronic ailments such as diabetes. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) transcription factor, at the core of these responses to pollutants, is expressed by all cells of the skin. The AhR is subject to tight regulation that depends on its ligand. Pollutants act in a deleterious manner via the AhR, influencing the behaviour of keratinocytes as well as fibroblasts. Natural ligands, on the other hand, allow the noxious effects of pollution to be countered. This non-systematic review of the literature shows that modulation of AhR appears to be an excellent therapeutic approach to improve or stop the cutaneous problems linked to pollution.

Glycation by glyoxal leads to profound changes in the behavior of dermal fibroblasts.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes is a worldwide health problem that is associated with severe complications. Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) such as Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine, which result from chronic hyperglycemia, accumulate in the skin of patients with diabetes. The effect of AGEs on fibroblast functionality and their impact on wound healing are still poorly understood. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: To investigate this, we treated cultured human fibroblasts with 0.6 mM glyoxal to induce acute glycation. The behavior of fibroblasts was analyzed by time-lapse monolayer wounding healing assay, seahorse technology and atomic force microscopy. Production of extracellular matrix was studied by transmission electronic microscopy and western blot. Lipid metabolism was investigated by staining of lipid droplets (LDs) with BODIPY 493/503. RESULTS: We found that the proliferative and migratory capacities of the cells were greatly reduced by glycation, which could be explained by an increase in fibroblast tensile strength. Measurement of the cellular energy balance did not indicate that there was a change in the rate of oxygen consumption of the fibroblasts. Assessment of collagen I revealed that glyoxal did not influence type I collagen secretion although it did disrupt collagen I maturation and it prevented its deposition in the extracellular matrix. We noted a pronounced increase in the number of LDs after glyoxal treatment. AMPK phosphorylation was reduced by glyoxal treatment but it was not responsible for the accumulation of LDs. CONCLUSION: Glyoxal promotes a change in fibroblast behavior in favor of lipogenic activity that could be involved in delaying wound healing.