Foetal antigen 2 (FA2) in relation to wound healing and fibroblast proliferation.

During wound healing of human skin the deposition of foetal antigen 2 (FA2) and basement membrane (BM) components collagen type IV and collagen VII was followed. FA2 appeared on day 8 in the cytoplasm of proliferating fibroblasts and around newly formed blood vessels. As granulation tissue was formed, FA2 was seen diffusely in the loose matrix and in proliferating fibroblasts. Re-establishment of FA2 as a broad diffuse band along the BM at the dermo-epidermal junction was seen on day 22. In contrast, type IV and VII collagen were found along the BM and in the basal cells of the newly formed epithelium and a continuous linear BM distribution of these two components were re-established by days 12 and 14, respectively. The molecular weight (Mr) analysis of FA2, isolated from human skin fibroblast culture supernatants using SDS-PAGE, revealed a Mr of 27 kDa, corresponding to that of FA2 isolated from amniotic fluid. The presence of FA2 in proliferating fibroblasts and diffusely in the newly formed matrix of granulation tissue, as well as its late appearance at the BM after this had become established, suggests that FA2 takes part in connective tissue metabolism and perhaps tissue morphogenesis.