Global Gene Expression of Cultured Human Dermal Fibroblasts: Focus on Cell Cycle and Proliferation Status in Improving the Condition of Face Skin

Chronological skin ageing is an inevitable physiological process that results in thin and sagging skin, fine wrinkles, and gradual dermal atrophy. The main therapeutic approaches to soft tissue augmentation involve using dermal fillers, where natural fillers, such as autologous fibroblasts, are involved in generating dermal matrix proteins. The aim of this study was to determine the global transcriptome profile of three passages of dermal autologous fibroblasts from a male volunteer, focusing on the processes of the cell cycle and cell proliferation status to estimate the optimal passage of the tested cells with respect to their reimplantation. We performed K-means clustering and validation of the expression of the selected mRNA by qRT-PCR. Ten genes were selected (ANLN, BUB1, CDC20, CCNA2, DLGAP5, MKI67, PLK1, PRC1, SPAG5, and TPX2) from the top five processes annotated to cluster 5. Detailed microarray analysis of the fibroblast genes indicated that the cell population of the third passage exhibited the highest number of upregulated genes involved in the cell cycle and cell proliferation. In all cases, the results of qRT-PCR confirmed the differences in expression of the selected mRNAs between fibroblasts from the primary culture (C0) and from the first (C1), second (C2), and third (C3) cell passage. Our results thus suggest that these cells might be useful for increasing fibroblast numbers after reimplantation into a recipient's skin, and the method used in this study seems to be an excellent tool for autologous transplantation allowing the rejuvenation of aging skin.