Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex multi-system autoimmune disease characterized by immune dysregulation, vasculopathy, and organ fibrosis. Skin fibrosis causes high morbidity and impaired quality of life in affected individuals. In this study, we identified the COL221 gene associated with the pathogenesis of skin fibrosis through high-throughput RNA sequencing of human skin in organ culture. The expression levels of COL221 were significantly increased by TGF in ex vivo human skin tissues and normal human skin fibroblasts, while other fibrosis growth factors such as IL-6 and bleomycin modestly increased COL221 expression. SOURCE: Gary Hardiman (hardiman@musc.edu) -  Medical University of South Carolina

Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE109350: Collagen 221 is a TGF early response gene in human skin that mediates the fibroblast to myofibroblast transition