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Defining the role of fibroblasts in skin expansion

GSE324558 Homo sapiens (human) RNA-seq (gene expression) 12 samples Submitted 2026/05/15 Platform GPL34281Platform GPL34328
At a glance

RNA-seq (gene expression) · human · 12 samples

What it is
RNA-seq (gene expression)Gene activity measured by sequencing. The summary does not mention single-cell work, so this is most likely bulk: one average per sample, the usual starting point for comparing groups.
Organism
Homo sapiens (human)
Samples
12 samples: 4 × LQ vs 4 × SQ vs 2 × ker on SQ# vs 2 × ker on LQ#Groups are read from the sample names, not from the paper. Check the list below.
Data you can get
A processed table (series matrix) and supplementary files from NCBI; the raw sequencing reads from ENA. Which of these hold counts depends on the study, so check the file list.
Paper
A stretch-responsive fibroblast program promotes epidermal stem cell self-renewal during skin expansionNature communications · 2026
Summary (written by the submitters)
Stretch-mediated tissue expansion is commonly used to grow extra skin for reconstructive surgeries. To ensure harmonious growth, the two main skin compartments, the epidermis and the dermis, must both expand in a coordinated manner. Although the epidermal response has been previously described, it remains unclear how fibroblasts, the main supporting cell type, respond to stretching in vivo.
Read the full summary ↓
Here we map the transcriptional response of the entire skin during stretch-mediated tissue expansion, and we describe the fibroblast response to stretching in vivo. We show an increase in fibroblast volume accompanied by changes in organisation. We demonstrate that stretching forces fibroblasts to exit their quiescent state and restart proliferation. Concurrently, fibroblasts reduce collagen production and upregulate extracellular matrix remodelling factors, adopting a more embryonic-like program. Because embryonic fibroblasts are widely used as feeder layers to support the expansion of epidermal stem cells for clinical application, we leveraged this model to show that a low collagen state enhances epidermal stem cell self-renewal, thereby coordinating epidermal and dermal responses during skin expansion. These findings provide valuable insights to guide the design of in vivo stretch-mediated tissue expansion protocols and the production of in vitro skin grafts for clinical application.
Published in
A stretch-responsive fibroblast program promotes epidermal stem cell self-renewal during skin expansion
Aguilera Stewart C, Alar C, Gozza GA et al. · Nature communications 2026 · PMID 42285958 · doi:10.1038/s41467-026-73979-0
This dataset
Download · which file do I need?

Direct links to NCBI and ENA, no account and no request form. Pick by what you want to do: take the small processed table to look, the supplementary files to re-analyse, or the original raw data to start over.

1 · Just have a look

Processed table

The series matrix: one table of values per sample as the submitters processed it. The smallest download, and it opens in Excel or R. Start here to see what the data look like.

2 · Re-analyse it

Supplementary files

The count tables and other files the authors uploaded. Take only the samples you need, or the whole study as GSE324558_RAW.tar (it can run to tens of gigabytes).

3 · Start from the raw reads

Raw sequencing reads

The original FASTQ files, straight from the sequencer, held at ENA. Large, and you align them yourself, so only choose this if you need to re-process the study from scratch.

What the files usually look like: For RNA-seq the counts are usually a table among the supplementary files (look for 'counts', 'expression', 'FPKM' or 'TPM' in the file name). The series matrix of a sequencing study is sometimes nearly empty.

Also filed as BioProject PRJNA1435788 and SRA study SRP682849. Searching any of these in the dataset finder brings you back here.

Study design
4 × LQ vs 4 × SQ vs 2 × ker on SQ# vs 2 × ker on LQ#

Supports a between-group comparison across 12 samples.

How we read this: 4 replicated groups read from 12 sample titles; they account for 12 of them. These groups are guessed from the sample names, not taken from the paper, so check them against the sample list below before relying on them.

Samples in this study
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