Regional and orientation-specific variations in the facial dermis: A comparison of the forehead and nasolabial fold

Summary: Abstract Body: The extracellular matrix (ECM) is essential for skin structure, function, and repair. This study investigated regional and orientation-specific differences in ECM components—elastic fibers (EF), collagen fibers (CF), and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)—in the forehead (FH) and nasolabial fold (NL) to inform strategies for enhancing wound healing and reducing scarring. Skin samples were obtained from cadavers (ages 59–87) and processed histologically. EF, CF, and GAGs were stained with Van Gieson, Trichrome, and Alcian Blue, respectively. ImageJ software quantified ECM components, and a two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test assessed differences by region and orientation. Regionally, FH exhibited significantly higher levels of collagen compared to NL across vertical orientation (p < 0.05). FH demonstrated significantly higher GAG levels than NL across horizontal orientation (p < 0.0001). Orientation-specific differences revealed that in FH, GAG levels were lower in vertical sections compared to horizontal sections (p = 0.0001), with no significant differences for elastic fibers or collagen. In NL, collagen levels were lower in vertical sections compared to horizontal sections (p = 0.0041), while no significant differences were observed for elastic fibers or GAGs. Across collagen, GAGs, and elastic fibers, significant differences were observed with age in both vertical and horizontal orientations for FH and NL. These findings highlight critical region- and orientation-specific ECM variations, offering insights for developing targeted approaches to improve tissue repair and minimize scarring by enhancing collagen deposition and other ECM components. Iman Bouchelkia¹, Sadacharan Chakravarthy¹ 1. Anatomy, University of Houston Tilman J Fertitta Family College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States. Stem Cell Biology, Tissue Regeneration and Wound Healing