Data on the mechanobiological differences in the transcriptomes of human fetal and adult dermal fibroblasts in response to extracellular matrix rigidity

Fetal skin is known to proceed through the wound healing process without the formation of scar tissue but rather via regeneration. Fetal dermal fibroblasts have emerged as a significant driving force in this regenerative response due to their unique phenotypic characteristics including our recent finding of an attenuated contractile response to extracellular matrix (ECM) rigidity that normally contributes to myofibroblast differentiation and scar formation. We provide data here that these mechanobiological differences in fetal dermal fibroblasts also extend to their genetic profile in which we found 353 differentially expressed genes when compared to adult dermal fibroblasts. These data are related to the research article entitled “The altered mechanical phenotype of fetal fibroblasts hinders myofibroblast differentiation” [1].