Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

Correspondence: Susan K. Gilmour, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, 100 Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania 19096, USA. Email: gilmours@mlhs.org

Received 21 July 2004; Revised 11 October 2004; Accepted 28 October 2004.

Abstract

To study the effects of de novo induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in adult, quiescent skin, we generated transgenic mice in which the suprabasal expression of an inducible form of the ODC protein fused to a modified estrogen receptor ligand-binding domain (ODCER) is driven by an involucrin promoter. After topical treatment with the inducing agent 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OHT), ODC activity and putrescine levels were dramatically increased in the epidermis but not in the dermis of transgenic mice. 4OHT treatment stimulated both proliferation as measured by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation in basal epidermal cells and differentiation shown by increased expression of differentiation markers. Furthermore, induction of ODC activity did not rescue primary epidermal keratinocyte cultures isolated from ODCER2 mice from a calcium-triggered DNA synthesis block, as measured by [³H]thymidine incorporation. In vivo induction of epidermal ODC enzyme activity significantly stimulated the vascularization of ODCER transgenic skin. Increased expression of interleukin-1 and keratin 6, markers of keratinocyte activation seen in wound healing, was also observed in 4OHT-treated transgenic skin. These results suggest that de novo suprabasal induction of ODC activity in adult mouse skin activates keratinocytes and stimulates vascularization in the dermal layer in a manner similar to skin undergoing wound healing.