LncRNA MIR503HG promotes hypertrophic scar progression via miR-143-3p-mediated Smad3 expression

Expression of macrophage activation‑specific factors in hyperplastic scar tissue during hyperplasia phase by antibody array blotting membrane assay and its clinical significance

The expression of macrophage activation-specific factors in hyperplastic scar (HS) tissues during hyperplasia phase was detected by antibody array imprinted membrane method and the role of macrophage activation in the natural evolution of HS was explored. A total of 83 patients with HS admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Beihua University (Jilin, China) between February 2021 and July 2021 were enrolled. The clinical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were divided into the hyperplasia HS group (n=26) and the decline HS group (the HS tissues ceased to grow and were in regression periods; n=57) according to the time of scar formation and clinical characteristics. The HS tissues were collected from patients in both groups. The contents of IL-12, IL-10, VEGF and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were detected by antibody array imprinted membrane method and the contents of IL-12, IL-10, VEGF and bFGF in tissues with various groups of tissues and clinical features were compared. The connection between macrophage activation-specific factors with VEGF and bFGF was analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis. The contents of IL-10 (9.48±1.06), VEGF (24.15±2.64) and bFGF (37.48±2.56) were much lower and IL-12 levels (16.45±0.85) were strongly higher in hyperplasia HS group compared with those in the decline HS group (14.56±1.26 for IL-10, 27.85±2.63 for VEGF, 43.15±3.16 for bFGF and 10.46±0.75 for IL-12, P<0.001). In the hyperplasia HS group, the contents of IL-10, VEGF and bFGF were obviously higher and the IL-12 levels were markedly lower in patients with age ≥30 years, protuberance height <2 mm, soft flexibility, low hyperemia degree and no concomitant symptoms than those in the patients with age <30 years, protuberance height ≥2 mm, hard flexibility, high hyperemia degree and concomitant symptoms (P<0.001). Pearson correlation analysis showed that IL-12 was negatively correlated with VEGF and bFGF (r=-0.328, 0.600, P<0.01). IL-10 was positively correlated with VEGF and bFGF (r=0.486, 0.684, respectively, P<0.001). In conclusion, macrophage activation-specific factors were abnormally expressed in hyperplasia HS, mainly M1 macrophages, accompanied by severe inflammatory reaction. The transformation of M1 macrophage into M2 macrophage usually occurred during the declining HS phase, which accelerated scar formation by promoting the formation of fibroblasts and angiogenesis. Detection of macrophage activation-specific factors may contribute to evaluate the clinical stage of HS.

Non-coding RNAs in hypertrophic scars and keloids: Current research and clinical relevance: A review

Hypertrophic scars (HS) and keloids (KD) are lesions that develop as a result of excessive fibroblast proliferation and collagen deposition in response to dermal injury, leading to dysregulation of the inflammatory, proliferative, and remodeling phases during wound healing. HS and KD affect up to 90 % of the population and are associated with lower quality of life, physical health, and mental status in patients. Efficient targeted treatment represents a significant challenge, primarily due to our limited understanding of their underlying pathogenesis. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which constitute a significant portion of the human transcriptome with minimal or no protein-coding capacity, have been implicated in various cellular physiologies and pathologies and may serve as diagnostic indicators or therapeutic targets. NcRNAs have been found to be aberrantly expressed and regulated in HS and KD. This review provides a summary of the expression profiles and molecular mechanisms of three common ncRNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), in HS and KD. It also discusses their potential as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases and provides novel insights into epigenetic-based diagnosis and treatment strategies for HS and KD.

Gallic Acid Treats Hypertrophic Scar in Rabbit Ears via the TGF-β/Smad and TRPC3 Signaling Pathways

Hypertrophic scars (HSs) develop due to excessive collagen deposition and abnormal fibroblast proliferation during wound healing, significantly impacting patient quality of life. Three dosages of GA ointments were administered to rabbit ear HS models to investigate the potential efficacy and mechanism of gallic acid (GA) on HS. Daily application of ointment was performed on the matrix group, the GA ointment groups, and the silicone gel group for 28 days. (No drug treatment was performed on the skin and model groups as a blank group and vehicle group, and silicone gel ointment was topically administered to the silicone gel group as a positive control group.) Scar specimens were collected for histopathology analysis, RNA sequencing analysis, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analysis at the first, second, and fourth weeks after the treatment. Low-dose and medium-dose GA effectively suppressed HS formation and markedly decreased fibroblast infiltration levels and scar thickness. Moreover, decreased expression of TRPC3 mRNA and TGF-β1, p-Smad2/3, and Smad2/3 protein was observed in the low- and medium-dose GA groups and the silicone gel group. This study provides evidence for the efficacy of GA in treating HS and sheds light on its potential underlying pharmacological mechanisms.

SNHG1 functions as a ceRNA in hypertrophic scar fibroblast proliferation and apoptosis through miR-320b/CTNNB1 axis

Hypertrophic scar (HS) is a fibrotic disease caused by skin injury. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) has been demonstrated to implicate in the regulation of cell malignant phenotypes. This research aims to reveal the effect of catenin beta 1 (CTNNB1) on the functions of hypertrophic scar fibroblasts (HSFBs) and its role in a ceRNA network. RNA expression level was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The proliferation and apoptosis of HSFB was detected via Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry analysis. Mechanism experiments included RNA pull down assay, luciferase reporter assay and RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were applied to analyze the upstream molecular mechanism of CTNNB1. CTNNB1 was highly expressed in HSFB. CTNNB1 depletion repressed malignant growth of HSFB. Mechanically, CTNNB1 was targeted by microRNA-320b (miR-320b) in HSFB. Small nucleolar RNA host gene 1 (SNHG1) aced as a ceRNA to upregulate CTNNB1 expression via sponging miR-320b in HSFB. CTNNB1 overexpression could reverse the impact of SNHG1 depletion on the proliferation and apoptosis of HSFB. SNHG1 acts as a ceRNA in modulating HSFB proliferation and apoptosis through miR-320b/CTNNB1 axis. SNHG1 act as a ceRNA to promote HSFB growth by sponging miR-320b to upregulate CTNNB1.

MIR503HG: A potential diagnostic and therapeutic target in human diseases

LncRNAs are involved in many physiological and pathological processes, including chromatin remodeling, transcription, posttranscriptional gene expression, mRNA stability, translation, and posttranslational modification, and their functions depend on subcellular localization. MIR503HG is a lncRNA as well as a host gene for the miRNAs miR-503 and miR-424. MIR503HG functions independently or synergistically with miR-503. MIR503HG affects cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and other biological behaviors. The mechanism of MIR503HG in disease includes interaction with protein, sponging miRNA to regulate downstream target gene, and participation in NF-κB, TGF-β, ERK/MAPK, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms of MIR503HG in disease and its potential applications in diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. We also raise some unanswered questions in this area, providing insights for future research.

Corilagin alleviates intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury by relieving oxidative stress and apoptosis via AMPK/Sirt1-autophagy pathway

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (II/R) injury is a common pathological process with high clinical morbidity and mortality. Autophagy plays an important role in the pathological development of II/R. Corilagin (CA) is a natural ellagitannin with various pharmacological effects such as autophagy regulation, antioxidant, and antiapoptosis. However, whether CA alleviates II/R injury is still unclear. In this study, we had found that CA significantly attenuated II/R induced intestinal tissue pathological damage, oxidative stress, and cell apoptosis in rats. Further studies showed that CA significantly promoted AMPK phosphorylation and sirt1 expression, and thus activated autophagy by upregulating protein expression of autophagy-related proteins Beclin1 and LC3II and promoting SQSTM1/P62 degradation both in vivo and in vitro. Inhibition of AMPK phosphorylation by its inhibitor compound C(CC) significantly abolished CA-mediated autophagy activation and the relievable effects on oxidative stress and apoptosis in vitro, suggesting the excellent protective activity of CA against II/R injury via AMPK/Sirt1-autophagy pathway. These findings confirmed the potent effects of CA against II/R injury, and provided novel insights into the mechanisms of the compound as a potential candidate for the treatment of II/R.

Traditional Chinese medicine for hypertrophic scars—A review of the therapeutic methods and potential effects

Hypertrophic scar (HS) is a typical pathological response during skin injury, which can lead to pain, itching, and contracture in patients and even affect their physical and mental health. The complexity of the wound healing process leads to the formation of HS affected by many factors. Several treatments are available for HS, whereas some have more adverse reactions and can even cause new injuries with exacerbated scarring. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a rich source, and most botanical drugs have few side effects, providing new ideas and methods for treating HS. This paper reviews the formation process of HS, the therapeutic strategy for HS, the research progress of TCM with its relevant mechanisms in the treatment of HS, and the related new drug delivery system of TCM, aiming to provide ideas for further research of botanical compounds in the treatment of HS, to promote the discovery of more efficient botanical candidates for the clinical treatment of HS, to accelerate the development of the new drug delivery system and the final clinical application, and at the same time, to promote the research on the anti-HS mechanism of multiherbal preparations (Fufang), to continuously improve the quality control and safety and effectiveness of anti-HS botanical drugs in clinical application.

Identifying miRNAs Associated with the Progression of Keloid through mRNA-miRNA Network Analysis and Validating the Targets of miR-29a-3p in Keloid Fibroblasts

Background. Keloid has brought great trouble to people and currently has no uniformly successful treatment. It is urgent to find new targets to effectively prevent the progress of keloid. The current research mainly identifies the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in keloid through high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis technology, to screen new therapeutic targets and potential biomarkers. However, due to the different samples, different control groups, and small sample sizes, the sequencing results obtained from different studies are quite different and lack reliability. It is necessary to analyze the existing datasets in a reasonable way. Methods. Datasets about keloid were filtered in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and ArrayExpress databases according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The discovery datasets were used for summarizing significant DEGs, and the validation datasets were to validate the mRNA and miRNA expression levels. The Encyclopedia of RNA Interactomes (ENCORI) online platform was used to predict the interactions between miRNAs and their target mRNAs. Protein-protein interaction network (PPI network) analysis and functional enrichment analysis were conducted. miRNA-mRNA network was established by Cytoscape software and verified in keloid tissue ( $n=8$ ) by RT-qPCR. miR-29a-3p mimic and inhibitor were transfected into keloid fibroblasts (KFs) to preliminary verify its targets, the prognostic value of which was estimated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results. A total of 6 datasets involving 20 patients were included. 15 miRNAs and 12 target mRNAs were identified as potential biomarkers for keloid patients. The RT-qPCR results showed that miR-29a-3p, miR-92a-3p, and miR-143-3p were downregulated, and all their target mRNAs were upregulated in keloid tissue ( $P<0.05$ ). The expression of COL1A1, COL1A2, COL3A1, COL5A1, and COL5A2 decreased when miR-29a-3p was overexpressed but increased when miR-29a-3p was knocked down ( $P<0.05$ ). And these genes had a good performance in the diagnosis of keloid, especially when using keloid nonlesional skin or normal scar tissues as controls. Conclusion. The miRNA-mRNA network, especially miR-29a-3p and its targets, may provide insights into the underlying pathogenesis of keloid and serve as potential biomarkers for keloid treatment.