Notch1 Signaling Regulates Wound Healing via Changing the Characteristics of Epidermal Stem Cells

Abstract

During wound healing and reconstruction, epidermal stem cells (ESCs) migrate to the wound site and activate to repair the damaged epithelium. Moreover, there exist complicate signaling pathways to regulate wound regeneration including Notch signaling. The Notch signaling pathway is a regulator of epidermal differentiation, which may be an important mediator of wound regeneration that participates in various processes, from the development of the dermis to the formation of skin appendages. Here, we show that Notch signaling pathways are upregulated by Jagged1 in ESCs and stem cell characteristics of ESCs change when Notch1 signaling varies. By administration of siRNA-Jagged1 knockdown ESCs in wounds, we observe that the suppression of Jagged1 down regulate expression of Notch signaling and resulted in poor-quality wound healing. Connecting Notch1 pathways activity to ESCs response to wound repairing may develop a new therapeutic strategy for delayed healing.