Panel A shows that wound healing as measured by scratch assay was
reduced in fibroblasts from patients with STAT4 A635V (red), as
compared with fibroblasts from healthy donors (blue). For the scratch assays,
three experiments were performed with six scratches each. Panel B shows that
transforming growth factor β–induced contraction
of collagen matrix by patient-derived fibroblasts (red) was reduced relative to
fibroblasts from healthy donors. Panel C shows that in F-actin
immunocytochemical analysis, cell size was increased in primary skin fibroblasts
from a patient with STAT4 A635V, as compared with fibroblasts
from healthy donors. Panel D shows that patient fibroblasts had enhanced
interleukin-6 secretion in the absence of stimulation. Panel E shows that wound
healing was reduced in primary skin fibroblasts from healthy donors when treated
with varying concentrations of interleukin-6, with rates approaching those of
cells from patients with STAT4 A635V (three experiments with
six scratches each). Throughout the figure, P values were calculated by means of
two-way analysis of variance. Error bars indicate standard errors.