LncRNA MALAT1 from human adipose-derived stem cell exosomes accelerates wound healing via miR-378a/FGF2 axis.

Skin wound healing is a process of synergistic action of multiple factors. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), a group of stem cells, are recruited into damaged tissues and secret several cytokines, which promote nascent tissue formation. ADSC-derived exosomes play crucial roles in wound healing as a paracrine vehicle for delivering chemokines, growth factors and RNAs to host cells. LncRNAs are involved in multiple physiological processes, including tissue repair. Furthermore, lncRNA MALAT1 is associated with endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis in different types of diseases. This study demonstrated that hADSC exosomes promoted the proliferation and migration of human skin fibroblasts and increased MALAT1 expression. MALAT1 silencing in human ADSCs inhibited human skin fibroblast viability and migration, promoted apoptosis and suppressed angiogenesis by upregulating miR-378a. miR-378a overexpression inhibited the phenotypic characteristics of human skin fibroblasts by downregulating FGF2. Exosomal MALAT1 appeared to accelerate skin wound healing by mediating the miR-378a/FGF2 axis.