Stimulation with THBS4 activates pathways that regulate proliferation, migration and inflammation in primary human keratinocytes.

As in other mammalian tissues, the extracellular matrix (ECM) of skin functions as mechanical support and regulative environment that guides the behavior of the cells. ECM is a gel-like structure that is primarily composed of structural and nonstructural proteins. While the content of structural proteins is stable, the level of nonstructural ECM proteins, such as thrombospondin-4 (THBS4), is dynamically regulated. In a previous work we demonstrated that THBS4 stimulated cutaneous wound healing. In this work we discovered that in addition to proliferation, THBS4 stimulated the migration of primary keratinocytes in 3D. By using a proteotransciptomic approach we found that stimulation of keratinocytes with THBS4 regulated the activity of signaling pathways linked to proliferation, migration, inflammation and differentiation. Interestingly, some of the regulated genes (eg IL37, TSLP) have been associated with the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). We concluded that THBS4 is a promising candidate for novel wound healing therapies and suggest that there is a potential convergence of pathways that stimulate cutaneous wound healing with those active in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases.