Overexpression of the Oral Mucosa-Specific microRNA-31 Promotes Skin Wound Closure

Author(s)

Chen, Lin ^{[1, 2]} ; Simoes, Alyne ^{[1, 3]} ; Chen, Zujian ^[2] ; Zhao, Yan ^{[1, 2]} ; Wu, Xinming ^[2] ; Dai, Yang ^[4] ; DiPietro, Luisa A. ^{[5, 1, 2]} ; Zhou, Xiaofeng ^{[5, 1, 2, 6]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Illinois, Coll Dent, Ctr Wound Healing & Tissue Regenerat, Chicago, IL 60612 - USA

^[2] Univ Illinois, Coll Dent, Dept Periodont, Chicago, IL 60612 - USA

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Dent, Dept Biomat & Oral Biol, Oral Biol Lab, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Illinois, Coll Engn, Dept Bioengn, Chicago, IL 60607 - USA

^[5] Univ Illinois, Grad Coll, Chicago, IL 60607 - USA

^[6] Univ Illinois, UIC Canc Ctr, Chicago, IL 60612 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES; v. 20, n. 15 AUG 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Wounds within the oral mucosa are known to heal more rapidly than skin wounds. Recent studies suggest that differences in the microRNAome profiles may underlie the exceptional healing that occurs in oral mucosa. Here, we test whether skin wound-healing can be accelerating by increasing the levels of oral mucosa-specific microRNAs. A panel of 57 differentially expressed high expresser microRNAs were identified based on our previously published miR-seq dataset of paired skin and oral mucosal wound-healing {[}Sci. Rep. (2019) 9:7160]. These microRNAs were further grouped into 5 clusters based on their expression patterns, and their differential expression was confirmed by TaqMan-based quantification of LCM-captured epithelial cells from the wound edges. Of these 5 clusters, Cluster IV (consisting of 8 microRNAs, including miR-31) is most intriguing due to its tissue-specific expression pattern and temporal changes during wound-healing. The in vitro functional assays show that ectopic transfection of miR-31 consistently enhanced keratinocyte proliferation and migration. In vivo, miR-31 mimic treatment led to a statistically significant acceleration of wound closure. Our results demonstrate that wound-healing can be enhanced in skin through the overexpression of microRNAs that are highly expressed in the privileged healing response of the oral mucosa. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/16332-0 - Role of microRNA in skin wound healing: effects of low level laser therapy and comparative study with oral mucosa healing
• Grantee: Alyne Simões Gonçalves
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research