Figure 1. Expression of Bmp pathway components during skin healing.
(a) qRT-PCR: significant decreases of Bmp-2, Bmp-4, Bmp-7 (*p<0.01) and noggin (**p<0.001) transcripts on days 3 and 5 post-wounding; (b) Immunofluorescence: In telogen skin, Bmpr-1A expression is restricted to the HF bulge (arrowhead); Bmpr-1B is seen in the basal (arrows) and suprabasal epidermal layers (arrowheads); pSmad-1/5/8 is expressed in the basal (arrows) and more prominently in suprabasal epidermal layers (arrowheads). On days 3, 5 and 7 post-wounding, Bmpr-1A expression is low in HF bulges near the wound (arrowed) but remains strongly expressed in those further from the wound (inset, arrowhead); there is strong expression of Bmpr-1B and pSmad-1/5/8 in the wound epithelial tongue and the adjacent unwounded epidermis (arrows); (mean ± SD, *p<0.01, **p<0.0001, Student’s t-test). HF – hair follicle, SG – sebaceous gland, WE – wound epithelium, scale bar 100µm.