Exosomes and microRNAs: insights into their roles in thermal-induced skin injury, wound healing and scarring.

A burn is a type of injury to the skin or other tissues caused by heat, chemicals, electricity, sunlight, or radiation. Burn injuries have been proven to have the potential for long-term detrimental effects on the human body. The conventional therapeutic approaches are not able to effectively and easily heal these burn wounds completely. The main potential drawbacks of these treatments include hypertrophic scarring, contracture, infection, necrosis, allergic reactions, prolonged healing times, and unsatisfactory cosmetic results. The existence of these drawbacks and limitations in current treatment approaches necessitates the need to search for and develop better, more efficient therapies. The regenerative potential of microRNAs (miRNAs) and the exosomal miRNAs derived from various cell types, especially stem cells, offer advantages that outweigh traditional burn wound healing treatment procedures. The use of multiple types of stem cells is gaining interest due to their improved healing efficiency for various applications. Stem cells have several key distinguishing characteristics, including the ability to promote more effective and rapid healing of burn wounds, reduced inflammation levels at the wound site, and less scar tissue formation and fibrosis. In this review, we have discussed the stages of wound healing, the role of exosomes and miRNAs in improving thermal-induced wounds, and the impact of miRNAs in preventing the formation of hypertrophic scars. Research studies, pre-clinical and clinical, on the use of different cell-derived exosomal miRNAs and miRNAs for the treatment of thermal burns have been documented from the year 2000 up to the current time. Studies show that the use of different cell-derived exosomal miRNAs and miRNAs can improve the healing of burn wounds. The migration of exosomal miRNAs to the site of a wound leads to inhibition of apoptosis, induction of autophagy, re-epithelialization, granulation, regeneration of skin appendages, and angiogenesis. In conclusion, this study underscores the importance of integrating miRNA and exosome research into treatment strategies for burn injuries, paving the way for novel therapeutic approaches that could significantly improve patient outcomes and recovery times.

FTO overexpression expedites wound healing and alleviates depression in burn rats through facilitating keratinocyte migration and angiogenesis via mediating TFPI-2 demethylation.

Burn injury is a serious traumatic injury that leads to severe physical and psychosocial impairment. Wound healing after burn injury is a substantial challenge in medical community. This study investigated the biological effects of the demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) on burn injury. FTO protein level in burn skin tissues of patients was measured with Western blot assay. Keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) were given heat stimulation to induce an in vitro burn injury model, and then transfected with overexpression plasmids of FTO (pcDNA-FTO) or small interfering RNA against FTO (si-FTO). Cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in keratinocytes were evaluated with CCK-8, Transwell, and tube formation assays, respectively. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2) m6A methylation level was detected with MeRIP­qPCR assay. Then rescue experiments were conducted to explore the effects of FTO/TFPI-2 axis on keratinocyte functions. Lentivirus carrying FTO overexpression plasmids was injected into a burn rat model to detect its effects on wound healing and depressive-like behaviors in burn rats. FTO was downregulated in burn skin and heat-stimulated keratinocytes. FTO prominently augmented proliferation, migration and angiogenesis in heat-stimulated keratinocytes, while FTO knockdown showed the opposite results. FTO inhibited TFPI-2 expression by FTO-mediated m6A methylation modification. TFPI-2 overexpression abrogated FTO mediated enhancement of proliferation, migration and angiogenesis in keratinocytes. Additionally, FTO overexpression accelerated wound healing and improved depressive-like behaviors in burn rat model. FTO prominently augmented proliferation, migration and angiogenesis in heat-stimulated keratinocytes though inhibiting TFPI-2, and then improved wound healing and depressive-like behaviors.

Epigenetic Regulation and Molecular Mechanisms of Burn Injury-Induced Nociception in the Spinal Cord of Mice.

Epigenetic mechanisms, including histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), play a critical role in regulating pain perception and the pathophysiology of burn injury. However, the epigenetic regulation and molecular mechanisms underlying burn injury-induced pain remain insufficiently explored. Spinal dynorphinergic (Pdyn) neurons contribute to heat hyperalgesia induced by severe scalding-type burn injury through p-S10H3-dependent signaling. Beyond p-S10H3, burn injury may impact various other histone H3 PTMs. Double immunofluorescent staining and histone H3 protein analyses demonstrated significant hypermethylation at H3K4me1 and H3K4me3 sites and hyperphosphorylation at S10H3 within the spinal cord. By analyzing Pdyn neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, we found evidence of chromatin activation with a significant elevation in p-S10H3 immunoreactivity. We used RNA-seq analysis to compare the effects of burn injury and formalin-induced inflammatory pain on spinal cord transcriptomic profiles. We identified 98 DEGs for burn injury and 86 DEGs for formalin-induced inflammatory pain. A limited number of shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) suggest distinct central pain processing mechanisms between burn injury and formalin models. KEGG pathway analysis supported this divergence, with burn injury activating Wnt signaling. This study enhances our understanding of burn injury mechanisms and uncovers converging and diverging pathways in pain models with different origins.

Robust classification of wound healing stages in both mice and humans for acute and burn wounds based on transcriptomic data.

BACKGROUND: Wound healing involves careful coordination among various cell types carrying out unique or even multifaceted functions. The abstraction of this complex dynamic process into four primary wound stages is essential to the study of wound care for timing treatment and tracking wound progression. For example, a treatment that may promote healing in the inflammatory stage may prove detrimental in the proliferative stage. Additionally, the time scale of individual responses varies widely across and within the same species. Therefore, a robust method to assess wound stages can help advance translational work from animals to humans. RESULTS: In this work, we present a data-driven model that robustly identifies the dominant wound healing stage using transcriptomic data from biopsies gathered from mouse and human wounds, both burn and surgical. A training dataset composed of publicly available transcriptomic arrays is used to derive 58 shared genes that are commonly differentially expressed. They are divided into 5 clusters based on temporal gene expression dynamics. The clusters represent a 5-dimensional parametric space containing the wound healing trajectory. We then create a mathematical classification algorithm in the 5-dimensional space and demonstrate that it can distinguish between the four stages of wound healing: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. CONCLUSIONS: In this work, we present an algorithm for wound stage detection based on gene expression. This work suggests that there are universal characteristics of gene expression in wound healing stages despite the seeming disparities across species and wounds. Our algorithm performs well for human and mouse wounds of both burn and surgical types. The algorithm has the potential to serve as a diagnostic tool that can advance precision wound care by providing a way of tracking wound healing progression with more accuracy and finer temporal resolution compared to visual indicators. This increases the potential for preventive action.

Screening and identification of the core immune-related genes and immune cell infiltration in severe burns and sepsis.

Severe burns often have a high mortality rate due to sepsis, but the genetic and immune crosstalk between them remains unclear. In the present study, the GSE77791 and GSE95233 datasets were analysed to identify immune-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in disease progression in both burns and sepsis. Subsequently, weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA), gene enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction, immune cell infiltration analysis, core gene identification, coexpression network analysis and clinical correlation analysis were performed. A total of 282 common DEGs associated with burns and sepsis were identified. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis identified the following enriched pathways in burns and sepsis: metabolic pathways; complement and coagulation cascades; legionellosis; starch and sucrose metabolism; and ferroptosis. Finally, six core DEGs were identified, namely, IL10, RETN, THBS1, FGF13, LCN2 and MMP9. Correlation analysis showed that some core DEGs were significantly associated with simultaneous dysregulation of immune cells. Of these, RETN upregulation was associated with a worse prognosis. The immune-related genes and dysregulated immune cells in severe burns and sepsis provide potential research directions for diagnosis and treatment.

DDB2 and MDM2 genes are promising markers for radiation diagnosis and estimation of radiation dose independent of trauma and burns.

In the field of biodosimetry, the current accepted method for evaluating radiation dose fails to meet the need of rapid, large-scale screening, and most RNA marker-related studies of biodosimetry are concentrating on a single type of ray, while some other potential factors, such as trauma and burns, have not been covered. Microarray datasets that contain the data of human peripheral blood samples exposed to X-ray, neutron, and γ-ray radiation were obtained from the GEO database. Totally, 33 multi-type ray co-induced genes were obtained at first from the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and key genes identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), and these genes were mainly enriched in DNA damage, cellular apoptosis, and p53 signaling pathway. Following transcriptome sequencing of blood samples from 11 healthy volunteers, 13 patients with severe burns, and 37 patients with severe trauma, 6635 trauma-related DEGs and 7703 burn-related DEGs were obtained. Through the exclusion method, a total of 12 radiation-specific genes independent of trauma and burns were identified. ROC curve analysis revealed that the DDB2 gene performed the best in diagnosis of all three types of ray radiation, while correlation analysis showed that the MDM2 gene was the best in assessment of radiation dose. The results of multiple-linear regression analysis indicated that such analysis could improve the accuracy in assessment of radiation dose. Moreover, the DDB2 and MDM2 genes remained effective in radiation diagnosis and assessment of radiation dose in an external dataset. In general, the study brings new insights into radiation biodosimetry.

Differentiated expressed miRNAs in splenic monocyte induced by burn injury in mice.

To find potential biomarkers based on miRNA and their potential targets in splenic monocytes in burn-injured mice. Male Balb/c mice were subjected to sham or scalding injury of 15% total body surface area. Spenic CD11b+ monocytes were purified with magnetic beads. The monocytes were cultured in the presence of lipopolysaccharide. The proliferation of monocytes was detected by MTT assay, and the cytokines in the supernatant were examined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The purified monocytes were also under total RNA extraction. The differential monocytic miRNAs expression between the sham and burn-injured mice was analysed by miRNA microarray. The activity of monocytes was comparable between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, monocytes from burn-injured mice secreted higher levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and transforming growth factor-ß, but lower level of monocyte chemoattratctant protein-1. A total of 54 miRNAs were differentially expressed in monocytes from burn relative to sham-injured mice (fold >3). Further quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed that the expression of miR-146a was significantly down-regulated, while miR-3091-6p was up-regulated after burn injury. Using the combination of Miranda and TargetScan softwares, we found that mir-146a may regulate 180 potential target genes including TNF receptor related factor 6 (TRAF6), interleukin-1 receptor related kinase 1 (IRAK1) and CD28. Mir-3091-6p may regulate 39 potential targets, including SOCS7 (cytokine signal transduction inhibitor 7) and ARRB2 (arrestin, ß 2). The miRNAs expressed by monocytes after burn injury may be involved in the regulation of innate immune response in burn injury.

Administration of circRNA_0075932 shRNA exhibits a therapeutic effect on burn-associated infection in obese rats.

miR-495 and miR-142-3p suppress inflammatory response. Circ_0075932 is overexpressed in the burned skin of obese individuals and is involved in the regulation of PUM2 and AuroraA kinase, thus activating the NF-kB pathway. Obesity significantly influences the length of hospital stay for paediatric burn patients, who present symptoms of slower healing or greater functional impairment. In this study, the relationship between the abovementioned genes was assessed using an obese rat burn model. Luciferase assays, real-time PCR, Western blotting and ELISA assays were performed to explore the regulatory relationships of circRNA_0075932/miR-142, circRNA_0075932/miR-495, miR-142/NLRP3, and miR-495/PUM2. Luciferase assays indicated that miR-142 effectively suppressed the expression of circRNA_0075932/NLRP3 while miR-495 inhibited the expression of circRNA_0075932/PUM2. Downregulation of circRNA_0075932 suppressed the expression of circRNA_0075932/NLRP3/PUM2 and activated the expression of miR-142/miR-495. Exosomes collected from lenti-circRNA_0075932 shRNA-treated ADSCs showed remarkable efficiency in maintaining the post heat stress (PHS)-induced dysregulation of circRNA_0075932, miR-142, miR-495, NLRP3, PUM2, AuroraB, Ika, NF-kB, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and MCP-1 in THP-1 cells. Moreover, EXO-Lenti-circRNA_0075932 shRNA significantly restored burn-induced dysregulation of circRNA_0075932, miR-142, miR-495, NLRP3, PUM2, AuroraB, Ika, NF-kB, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and MCP-1 in obese rats. In conclusion, this study confirmed that the expression of circ_0075932 in adipose tissue is evidently increased in burn-associated infection in obese rats. Moreover, the administration of circ_0075932 shRNA exhibited a therapeutic effect upon burn-associated infection in obese rats by suppressing the expression of circ_0075932.

miR-24-3p obstructs the proliferation and migration of human skin fibroblasts after thermal injury by targeting PPAR-ß and positively regulated by NF-κB.

Thermal injury repair is a complex process during which the maintenance of the proliferation and migration of human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) exert a crucial role. MicroRNAs have been proven to exert an essential function in repairing skin burns. This study delves into the regulatory effects of miR-24-3p on the migration and proliferation of HSFs that have sustained a thermal injury, thereby, providing deeper insight into thermal injury repair pathogenesis. The PPAR-ß protein expression level progressively increased in a time-dependent manner on the 12th, 24th and 48th hour following the thermal injury of the HSFs. The knockdown of PPAR-ß markedly suppressed the proliferation of and migration of HSF. Following thermal injury, the knockdown also promoted the inflammatory cytokine IL-6, TNF-α, PTGS-2 and P65 expression. PPAR-ß contrastingly exhibited an opposite trend. A targeted relationship between PPAR-ß and miR-24-3p was predicted and verified. miR-24-3p inhibited thermal injured HSF proliferation and migration and facilitated inflammatory cytokine expression through the regulation of PPAR-ß. p65 directly targeted the transcriptional precursor of miR-24 and promoted miR-24 expression. A negative correlation between miR-24-3p expression level and PPAR-ß expression level in rats' burnt dermal tissues was observed. Our findings reveal that miR-24-3p is conducive to rehabilitating the denatured dermis, which may be beneficial in providing effective therapy of skin burns.

In situ scarless skin healing of a severe human burn wound induced by a hCTLA4Ig gene-transferred porcine skin graft.

Preventing fibrosis or hypertrophic scar formation following tissue damage is still a big challenge despite the numerous approaches clinicians currently use. Hitherto, no written account was available of a successful case of scarless skin healing after a severe burn injury. Here, we report the first case of the "perfect regenerative healing" of a severe burn wound with no hypertrophic scar formation in which a postage stamp skin autograft was covered with human cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte associated antigen4-immunoglobulin (hCTLA4Ig) gene-transferred pig skin. We also discuss the mechanisms involved in the scarless healing of human burn wounds.

Effect of artificial skin membrane on the expression of miR-155 and miR-506-3p in patients with second-degree burns.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of artificial skin on the expression of miR-155 and miR-506-3p in patients with second-degree burns. METHODS: The study subjects included 50 patients with second-degree burns treated from July 2019 to July 2021. The control group received routine nursing, while the research group received both routine and artificial skin intervention simultaneously. The changes in wound tissue fibrosis and prognosis were observed. The expression levels of miR-155 and miR-506-3p and their downstream regulatory factors were detected and correlated with the rehabilitation of patients after artificial skin treatment. RESULTS: After treating second-degree burns with artificial skin membranes, the patient's wound tissue fibrosis and inflammation level improved. At the same time, the expression levels of miR-155 and miR-506-3p in related tests were higher than those in patients with available treatment. CONCLUSION: The effect of artificial skin membrane on the wound healing of second-degree burn patients may be realized by influencing the expression levels of miR-155 and miR-506-3p and their related signaling pathways.

hUC-MSCs exosomal miR-451 alleviated acute lung injury by modulating macrophage M2 polarization via regulating MIF-PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.

In the previous study, we have proved that exosomal miR-451 from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) attenuated burn-induced acute lung injury (ALI). However, the mechanism of exosomal miR-451 in ALI remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to study the molecular mechanism of hUC-MSCs-derived exosomal miR-451 on ALI by regulating macrophage polarization. Exosomes were isolated and identified by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). The expression of miR-451, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway proteins were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. Flow cytometry was used to detect the CD80 and CD206 positive cells. Severe burn rat model was established and HE was used to detect the inflammatory cell infiltration and inflammatory injury. Dual luciferase reporter system was used to detect the regulation of miR-451 to MIF. The contents of cytokines were detected by ELISA. The results showed that hUC-MSCs exosomes promoted macrophage M1 to M2 polarization. Furthermore, hUC-MSCs-derived exosomal miR-451 alleviated ALI development and promoted macrophage M1 to M2 polarization. Moreover, MIF was a direct target of miR-451. Downregulation of MIF regulated by miR-451 alleviated ALI development promoted macrophage M1 to M2 polarization. In addition, we found that MIF and hUC-MSCs-derived exosomal miR-451 participated in ALI by regulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In conclusion, we indicated that hUC-MSCs-derived exosomal miR-451 alleviated ALI by modulating macrophage M2 polarization via regulating MIF-PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, which provided great scientific significance and clinical application value for the treatment of burn-induced ALI.

CRISPR/Cas9-Based Mutagenesis of Histone H3.1 in Spinal Dynorphinergic Neurons Attenuates Thermal Sensitivity in Mice.

Burn injury is a trauma resulting in tissue degradation and severe pain, which is processed first by neuronal circuits in the spinal dorsal horn. We have recently shown that in mice, excitatory dynorphinergic (Pdyn) neurons play a pivotal role in the response to burn-injury-associated tissue damage via histone H3.1 phosphorylation-dependent signaling. As Pdyn neurons were mostly associated with mechanical allodynia, their involvement in thermonociception had to be further elucidated. Using a custom-made AAV9_mutH3.1 virus combined with the CRISPR/cas9 system, here we provide evidence that blocking histone H3.1 phosphorylation at position serine 10 (S10) in spinal Pdyn neurons significantly increases the thermal nociceptive threshold in mice. In contrast, neither mechanosensation nor acute chemonociception was affected by the transgenic manipulation of histone H3.1. These results suggest that blocking rapid epigenetic tagging of S10H3 in spinal Pdyn neurons alters acute thermosensation and thus explains the involvement of Pdyn cells in the immediate response to burn-injury-associated tissue damage.

Association of TLR4 gene polymorphisms with sepsis after a burn injury: findings of the functional role of rs2737190 SNP.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction condition caused by a dysregulated response to an infection that is common among patients with moderate to severe burn injury. Previously, genomic variants in Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a key innate immunity receptor, have been associated with sepsis and infection susceptibility. In this study, the association of six TLR4 SNPs with sepsis after burn injury was tested in the Mexican mestizo population. We found that the rs2737190 polymorphism is associated with sepsis after burn trauma. Interestingly, the G allele and GG genotype were associated with a lower risk of developing sepsis. Since the rs2737190 SNP is in the promoter region of the TLR4 gene, we analyzed the possibility that this polymorphism regulates the TLR4 pathway. We cultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells from different genotype carriers and found, after stimulation with LPS, that carriers of the GG genotype showed a higher expression of TLR4, IL6, and TNFα than AA genotype carriers. The results suggest that the GG genotype produces an increase in the TLR4 expression, and therefore an improvement in the immune response. We conclude that the rs2737190 polymorphism may become a useful marker for genetic studies of sepsis in patients after a burn injury.

Burn-induced hypermetabolism and skeletal muscle dysfunction.

Critical illnesses, including sepsis, cancer cachexia, and burn injury, invoke a milieu of systemic metabolic and inflammatory derangements that ultimately results in increased energy expenditure leading to fat and lean mass catabolism. Burn injuries present a unique clinical challenge given the magnitude and duration of the hypermetabolic response compared with other forms of critical illness, which drastically increase the risk of morbidity and mortality. Skeletal muscle metabolism is particularly altered as a consequence of burn-induced hypermetabolism, as it primarily provides a main source of fuel in support of wound healing. Interestingly, muscle catabolism is sustained long after the wound has healed, indicating that additional mechanisms beyond wound healing are involved. In this review, we discuss the distinctive pathophysiological response to burn injury with a focus on skeletal muscle function and metabolism. We first examine the diverse consequences on skeletal muscle dysfunction between thermal, electrical, and chemical burns. We then provide a comprehensive overview of the known mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle dysfunction that may be attributed to hypermetabolism. Finally, we review the most promising current treatment options to mitigate muscle catabolism, and by extension improve morbidity and mortality, and end with future directions that have the potential to significantly improve patient care.

Mechanisms of exercise as a preventative measure to muscle wasting.

Skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue in healthy individuals and it has important roles in health beyond voluntary movement. The overall mass and energy requirements of skeletal muscle require it to be metabolically active and flexible to multiple energy substrates. The tissue has evolved to be largely load dependent and it readily adapts in a number of positive ways to repetitive overload, such as various forms of exercise training. However, unloading from extended bed rest and/or metabolic derangements in response to trauma, acute illness, or severe pathology, commonly results in rapid muscle wasting. Decline in muscle mass contributes to multimorbidity, reduces function, and exerts a substantial, negative impact on the quality of life. The principal mechanisms controlling muscle mass have been well described and these cellular processes are intricately regulated by exercise. Accordingly, exercise has shown great promise and efficacy in preventing or slowing muscle wasting through changes in molecular physiology, organelle function, cell signaling pathways, and epigenetic regulation. In this review, we focus on the role of exercise in altering the molecular landscape of skeletal muscle in a manner that improves or maintains its health and function in the presence of unloading or disease.epigenetics; exercise; muscle wasting; resistance training; skeletal muscle.

Long noncoding RNA H19 act as a competing endogenous RNA of Let-7g to facilitate IEC-6 cell migration and proliferation via regulating EGF.

Intestinal mucosal injury is one of the most significant complications of burns. In our previous study, it was found that autophagy could alleviate burn-induced intestinal injury, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Irregular expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is present in many diseases, including burns. However, the relationship between lncRNAs and intestinal mucosal injury requires further elucidation. In this study, we established a burn mice model and detected the expression level of autophagy-related proteins. Then, H19 content after autophagy intervention was tested in vitro and in vivo. The interaction of H19 with Let-7g and that of Let-7g with epidermal growth factor (EGF) were verified by dual-luciferase reporter assays. We found that the expression of the autophagy-associated proteins LC3-II and Beclin-1 was raised in the intestinal tract of the burn mice model. Similarly, the transfection of H19 raised autophagy levels. H19 was elevated after autophagy intervention in vitro and in vivo. H19 overexpression was able to promote IEC-6 cell migration and proliferation. Let-7g was suppressed by the overexpression of H19 and the combination of Let-7g mimic was able to abolish the physiological effect of H19. Moreover, the suppression of Let-7g increased the expression of EGF protein, which heightened IEC-6 cell migration and proliferation. Besides this, dual-luciferase assays revealed that Let-7g was a direct target of H19 as well as the EGF gene. Taken together, autophagy-mediated H19 increases in mouse intestinal tract after severe burn and functions as a sponge to Let-7g to regulate EGF, which suggests that H19 serves as a potential therapeutic target and biomarker for intestinal mucosal injury after burns.

The long noncoding RNA PDK1-AS/miR-125b-5p/VEGFA axis modulates human dermal microvascular endothelial cell and human umbilical vein endothelial cell angiogenesis after thermal injury.

Our previous study confirmed the critical role of miR-125b and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in burn wound repair., The present study was aimed to identify the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) related to the function of miR-125b and VEGF in burn wound repair and the underlying mechanism. First, we found that lncRNA PDK1-AS and VEGFA expression was significantly increased in heat-denatured dermal tissue samples and in human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMECs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after thermal injury. PDK1-AS knockdown significantly inhibited cell viability, cumulative tube length, cell migratory ability, and cell invasion of thermally injured HDMECs and HUVECs. PDK1-AS knockdown decreased VEGFA protein levels in HDMECs and HUVECs. While overexpression of PDK1-AS showed the opposite effects. Online tools prediction and luciferase assay confirmed that miR-125b-5p targeted PDK1-AS and VEGFA 3'-untranslated region. miR-125b-5p inhibition significantly increased VEGFA protein levels and enhanced viability, cumulative tube length, migratory ability, and invasion of HUVECs and HDMECs. Furthermore, the effects of PDK1-AS knockdown on VEGFA protein levels in the two cell lines were partially reversed by miR-125b-5p inhibition. Finally, in the tissue samples, PDK1-AS and VEGFA expression was increased, while miR-125b-5p expression was decreased in heat-denatured dermal tissues; the expression of miR-125b-5p had a negative correlation with PDK1-AS and VEGFA, respectively, and PDK1-AS and VEGFA were positively correlated with each other in tissue samples. In conclusion, PDK1-AS relieves miR-125b-5p-induced inhibition on VEGFA by acting as a endogenous RNA, therefore modulating HDMEC and HUVEC angiogenesis after thermal injury.

PAX5 activates telomerase activity and proliferation in keloid fibroblasts by transcriptional regulation of SND1, thus promoting keloid growth in burn-injured skin.

OBJECTIVE: Staphylococcal nuclease domain-containing 1 (SND1) that functioned as an oncogene in a variety of tumors was upregulated in burn-injured skin tissues, and this study aims to investigate the effect of SND1 on keloid and elucidate the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Keloid fibroblasts (KFs) and normal skin fibroblasts (NFs) were isolated from the keloid tissues and adjacent normal skin tissues of keloid patients. The SND1 expression was assessed in keloid tissues and KFs with Western blot assay. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were performed to investigate the role of SND1 in proliferation, colony formation, telomerase activity, expression of fibrogenic genes and production of pro-inflammatory factors in KFs. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) and Dual-luciferase reporter gene assays were used to verify the interaction of Paired-box gene 5 (PAX5) on SND1 promoter. Then, a series of rescue experiments were performed to verify the effects of SND1 overexpression on PAX5 knockdown-mediated KF functions. Finally, the role of SND1 in keloid formation in vivo was validated in mice with keloid implantation. RESULTS: SND1 was upregulated in keloid tissues and KFs. SND1 positively regulated proliferation, colony formation, telomerase activity, production of pro-inflammatory factors and expression of fibrogenic genes. PAX5 directly bound to the SND1 promoter to transcriptionally regulate SND1 expression and positively regulated SND1-mediated KF functions via the ERK/JNK pathway. In vivo assay further demonstrated that SND1 displayed a positive effect on keloid formation. CONCLUSION: SND1 transcriptionally regulated by PAX5 promotes keloid formation through activating telomerase activity via the ERK/JNK signaling pathways, which provides a promising therapeutic target for clinical treatment of burned skin keloid.

Senescence in a cell culture model for burn wounds.

Thermal injuries cause severe damage on the cellular and tissue level and are considered especially challenging in the clinical routine. Complex interactions of different cell types and pathways dictate the formation of burn wounds. Thus, complications like burn wound progression, where so far viable tissue becomes necrotic and the size and depth of the wound increases, are difficult to explain, mainly due to the lack of simple model systems. We tested the behavior of human fibroblasts after heat treatment. A prominent response of the cells is to activate the heat shock response (HSR), which is one of the primary emergency mechanisms of the cell to proteotoxic stress factors such as heat. However, after a powerful but not lethal heat shock we observed a delayed activation of the HSR. Extending this model system, we further investigated these static cells and observed the emergence of senescent cells. In particular, the cells became ß-galactosidase positive, increased p16 levels and developed a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). The secretion of cytokines like IL-6 is reminiscent of burn wounds and generates a bystander effect in so far non-senescent cells. In agreement with burn wounds, a wave of cytokine secretion enhanced by invading immune cells could explain complications like burn wound progression. A simple cell culture model can thus be applied for the analysis of highly complex conditions in human tissues.