Fig. 4

Analysis of EMT biomarkers in normal human skin and keloid scar tissue. Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against E-cadherin (green; a-d, g-h), active β-catenin (red; e-h), and vimentin (red; i-j). Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI (blue) in all sections. Different keloid scar sections are shown in left panels (a, c, e, g, and i). Normal skin sections are shown in right panels (b, d, f, h, and j). Panels a’–j’ are threefold magnified images of the boxed regions shown in a–j. (a–d) E-cadherin (green) is reduced in keloid scar epidermis (a, a’, c, c’) compared with normal epidermis (b, b’, d, d’). Variable staining intensity is observed among keloids from different individuals, with relatively low levels in the upper dermal layers (asterisks in a’ and c’) compared with normal epidermis. (e–h) Regions of active β-catenin expression (red; indicated by arrowheads in e’–h’) are increased in keloid epidermis (e, g) compared with normal epidermis (f, h). g, h E-cadherin and β-catenin show complementary expression patterns in keloid epidermis. i, j Vimentin (red) is increased in keloid scar (i-i’) compared with normal skin (j-j’). Epidermal vimentin staining is observed in cells of the basal layer (arrowheads) and within the upper epidermal layers (arrows). White scale bars (a–j), 100 μm; yellow scale bars (a’–j’), 50 μm. Representative images are shown