Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Podiatry, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Division, La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital, 46026 Valencia, Spain.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Dec 5;23(23):15319. doi: 10.3390/ijms232315319.
Skin fibrosis is a hallmark of a wide array of dermatological diseases which can greatly impact the patients' quality of life. Galectin-3 (GAL-3) has emerged as a central regulator of tissue fibrosis, playing an important pro-fibrotic role in numerous organs. Various studies are highlighting its importance as a skin fibrotic diseases biomarker; however, there is a need for further studies that clarify its role. This paper aims to ascertain whether the expression of GAL-3 is increased in relevant in vitro and in vivo models of skin fibrosis. We studied the role of GAL-3 in vitro using normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and fibrocytes. In addition, we used a skin fibrosis murine model (BALB/c mice) and human biopsies of healthy or keloid tissue. GAL-3 expression was analyzed using real time PCR, Western blot and immunostaining techniques. We report a significantly increased expression of GAL-3 in NHDF and fibrocytes cell cultures following stimulation with transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1). In vivo, GAL-3 expression was increased in a murine model of systemic sclerosis and in human keloid biopsies. In sum, this study underlines the involvement of GAL-3 in skin fibrosis using several models of the disease and highlights its role as a relevant target.
皮肤纤维化是多种皮肤科疾病的一个显著特征，它会极大地影响患者的生活质量。半乳糖凝集素-3（GAL-3）已成为组织纤维化的核心调节剂，在许多器官中发挥着重要的促纤维化作用。各种研究都强调了它作为皮肤纤维化疾病生物标志物的重要性；然而，需要进一步的研究来阐明其作用。本文旨在确定 GAL-3 的表达是否在相关的皮肤纤维化体外和体内模型中增加。我们使用正常的人真皮成纤维细胞（NHDF）和纤维细胞在体外研究了 GAL-3 的作用。此外，我们还使用了皮肤纤维化的小鼠模型（BALB/c 小鼠）和健康或瘢痕组织的人类活检。使用实时 PCR、Western blot 和免疫染色技术分析了 GAL-3 的表达。我们报告说，在转化生长因子β1（TGFβ1）刺激下，NHDF 和纤维细胞培养物中的 GAL-3 表达显著增加。在体内，GAL-3 的表达在系统性硬化症的小鼠模型和人类瘢痕疙瘩活检中增加。总之，这项研究使用几种疾病模型强调了 GAL-3 参与皮肤纤维化，并突出了其作为一个相关靶点的作用。
