MicroRNA in cutaneous wound healing: a new paradigm

Repair of a defect in the human skin is a highly orchestrated physiological process involving numerous factors that act in a temporally resolved synergistic manner to re-establish barrier function by regenerating new skin. The inducible expression and repression of genes represents a key component of this regenerative process. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are approximately 22-nucleotide-long endogenously expressed non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of gene products by inhibition of translation and/or transcription in animals. miRNAs play a key role in skin morphogenesis and in regulating angiogenesis. The vascular endothelial growth factor signaling path seems to be under repressor control by miRNAs. Mature miRNA-dependent mechanisms impair angiogenesis in vivo. It is critically important to recognize that the understanding of cutaneous wound healing is incomplete without appreciating the functional significance of wound-induced miRNA. Ongoing work in our laboratory has led to the observation that the cutaneous wound healing process involves changes in the expression of specific miRNA at specific phases of wound healing. We hypothesize that dysregulation of specific miRNA is critical in derailing the healing sequence in chronic problem wounds. If tested positive, this hypothesis is likely to lead to completely novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of problem wounds.