Cellular senescence controls fibrosis in wound healing

Abstract

Mammalian wound healing involves the rapid synthesis and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) to maintain tissue integrity during repair. This process must be tightly controlled, as its deregulation may result in fibrosis, scarring, and loss of tissue function. Recent studies have uncovered an efficient and parsimonious mechanism for rendering fibrogenesis self-limiting in wound healing: in such diverse organs as the liver and skin, the myofibroblasts that initially proliferate and produce ECM are themselves eventually driven into senescence, blocking their further proliferation and converting them into matrix-degrading cells. Myofibroblast senescence in skin wounds is triggered by a dynamically expressed matricellular protein, CCN1/CYR61, which acts through integrin-mediated induction of oxidative stress. We propose that the onset of myofibroblast senescence is a programmed wound healing response that functions as a self-limiting mechanism for fibrogenesis, and this process may be regulated by the ECM microenvironment through the expression of CCN1/CYR61.