The common YAP activation mediates corneal epithelial regeneration and repair with different-sized wounds.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33772031.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41536-021-00126-2 and PMC identifier 7997881.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Regeneration/repair after injury can be endowed by adult stem cells (ASCs) or lineage restricted and even terminally differentiated cells. In corneal epithelium, regeneration after a large wound depends on ASCs (limbal epithelial stem cells, LESCs), whereas repair after a small wound is LESCs-independent. Here, using rat corneal epithelial wounds with different sizes, we show that YAP activation promotes the activation and expansion of LESCs after a large wound, as well as the reprogramming of local epithelial cells (repairing epithelial cells) after a small wound, which contributes to LESCs-dependent and -independent wound healing, respectively. Mechanically, we highlight that the reciprocal regulation of YAP activity and the assembly of cell junction and cortical F-actin cytoskeleton accelerates corneal epithelial healing with different-sized wounds. Together, the common YAP activation and the underlying regulatory mechanism are harnessed by LESCs and lineage-restricted epithelial cells to cope with corneal epithelial wounds with different sizes.