Abstract
Upon tissue injury, skin mechano-sensing promotes immune defence and return to homeostasis. However, the impact of acute skin stretching, such as skin rubbing, is poorly understood. Using a model of transient skin stretching, we show that a single instance of skin tension modification induces collagen fibre re-orientation, mechano-transduction in stromal cells, inflammatory mediators production and immune cells recruitment to the skin. At the same time, skin stretching increases skin permeability without tissue damage via the opening of hair follicles. Furthermore, stretch-induced skin changes lead to the activation and migration of dermal dendritic cells through exposure to skin microbiota-derived compounds. Finally, we harness acute skin stretching to enable needle-free vaccine delivery, promoting antigen accumulation in the lymph nodes and producing a superior response compared to intra-muscular injection. Our results shed light on the role of mechanical stimuli in fine-tuning skin immune surveillance and have important implications for drug delivery and mechanobiology.
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•Acute skin stretching induces mechano-transduction and release of inflammatory mediators•Skin stretching increases permeability without tissue damage by opening hair follicles•Skin stretching increases dendritic cell activation via exposure to microbiota compounds•Stretching-mediated vaccine delivery induces efficient antibody production
The impact of acute skin stretching, experienced during everyday mechanical changes such as skin rubbing, is poorly understood. Benaouda et al. show that transient skin stretching induces mechano-transduction and stimulates skin immune surveillance. Acute skin stretching promotes hair follicles opening and enables needle-free vaccine delivery, inducing efficient antibody responses.