Recapitulation of morphogenetic cell shape changes enables wound re-epithelialisation

Patterning of wound-induced intercellular Ca2+flashes in a developing epithelium

“…This observation is similar to recent experiments performed in the Drosophila embryonic epidermis and pupal notum which note similar flash events [24,26]. Cells in the embryonic epidermis tend to elongate preferentially with mechanical forces during embryogenesis and it was observed, qualitatively, that the induced flashes tended to elongate preferentially in the direction of cell elongation [26,28]. This is consistent with our results.…”

“…We also have shown that the computational model can be used to make predictions about the spatiotemporal dynamics of the Ca 2+ flashes within the patterned tissue, providing a guide for future studies incorporating the cellular responses to Ca 2+ transients. Recent evidence demonstrating that Ca 2+ signaling is correlated with waves of actomyosin recruited to the wound site in the minutes following damage suggests that these flashes may also serve to recruit subunits necessary for repair and instruct surrounding cells to elongate towards, and close, the wound [24,28]. The close coupling between cell geometry and Ca 2+ signaling could also provide a mechanism for the transfer of information regarding cell and tissue shapes across epithelia for a given mechanical stimulus.…”

“…The rapid response (or ‘flash’) and decay of Ca 2+ in the cells surrounding a wound correlates with waves of actomyosin and cell constriction that flow back towards the location of the wound’s edge and later contribute to the formation of an actomyosin cable that drives wound closure [24]. Studies in the pupal thorax have shown that even cells that are several cell diameters away from a wound site are able to elongate in the direction of the wound to assist in wound closure [28]. Such observations highlight the importance of Ca 2+ in the repair of damaged tissues and imply that Ca 2+ may play a fundamental role in the relay of mechanical information to cells in the event of tissue damage as well as general changes in the mechanical environment.…”

Learning from regeneration research organisms: The circuitous road to scar free wound healing

“…This is in contrast to human wound closure, which is a proliferative process that occurs at a rate of 0.001 μm 2 /h (Rezvani et al, 2009). The process of keratinocytes using active migration to close a wound is similar to how adult mammals will also close wounds, while fetal wounds will use an actin-purse string mechanism of closure, similar to that which is seen in Drosophila embryos wound healing (Razzell et al, 2014). …”

Palatogenesis and cutaneous repair: A two‐headed coin

“…In monolayer epithelial sheets, a finite number of cells are mobilized to close a scratch, and the mobilization of distant cells is independent of the advancement of the leading cells (Matsubayashi et al, 2011). However, in the Drosophila embryo wound model, the cells away from the wound edge stretch toward the wound and show actomyosin-dependent shrinkage of cell-cell junctions with their neighbors to drive cell intercalation events and thus close the wound (Razzell et al, 2014).…”