The ability of epithelial tissues to heal after injury is essential for animal life, yet the mechanisms by which epithelial cells sense tissue damage are incompletely understood. In aquatic organisms such as zebrafish, osmotic shock following injury is believed to be an early and potent activator of a wound response. We find that, in addition to sensing osmolarity, basal skin cells in zebrafish larvae are also sensitive to changes in the particular ionic composition of their surroundings after wounding, specifically the concentration of sodium chloride in the immediate vicinity of the wound. This sodium chloride-specific wound detection mechanism is independent of cell swelling, and instead is suggestive of a mechanism by which cells sense changes in the transepithelial electrical potential generated by the transport of sodium and chloride ions across the skin. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that electric fields directly applied within the skin are sufficient to initiate actin polarization and migration of basal cells in their native epithelial context in vivo, even overriding endogenous wound signaling. This suggests that, in order to mount a robust wound response, skin cells respond to both osmotic and electrical perturbations arising from tissue injury.

中文翻译：

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与渗透压无关的电子线索指导斑马鱼表皮损伤的快速反应

上皮组织在受伤后愈合的能力对于动物生命至关重要，但对上皮细胞感知组织损伤的机制尚不完全了解。在诸如斑马鱼的水生生物中，损伤后的渗透压休克被认为是伤口反应的早期有效活化剂。我们发现，除了感觉到渗透压外，斑马鱼幼虫的基础皮肤细胞还对受伤后周围环境的特定离子组成的变化敏感，特别是在伤口附近的氯化钠浓度。这种氯化钠特定的伤口检测机制与细胞肿胀无关，相反，它暗示了一种机制，细胞可以通过这种机制来感知钠和氯离子在皮肤上的运输所产生的跨上皮电位的变化。与此假设相符，我们表明直接在皮肤内施加的电场足以在体内原生上皮环境中引发肌动蛋白极化和基底细胞迁移，甚至覆盖内源性伤口信号传导。这表明，为了引起强烈的伤口反应，皮肤细胞应对组织损伤引起的渗透和电扰动。甚至覆盖内源性伤口信号。这表明，为了引起强烈的伤口反应，皮肤细胞应对组织损伤引起的渗透和电扰动。甚至覆盖内源性伤口信号。这表明，为了引起强烈的伤口反应，皮肤细胞应对组织损伤引起的渗透和电扰动。