Porcine acellular dermal matrix accelerates wound healing through miR-124-3p.1 and miR-139-5p

Cutaneous wound management is a major health problem and imposes a huge economic burden worldwide. Previous studies have demonstrated that wound healing is a highly coordinated process including epithelialization, angiogenesis, remodeling and scarring. This progression requires self-renewal, preservation and repair properties of stem cells. However, our understanding of the detailed internal regulatory mechanism following injury and the means to accelerate wound healing are limited.

Our previous research revealed that porcine acellular dermal matrix (ADM) effectively promotes wound healing and scar formation through epidermal stem cells (ESCs), and this process is relevant to the alteration of internal miRNA levels. In this study, we investigated the regulatory function of porcine ADM treatment on miRNAs in ESCs.

We report that the treatment of porcine ADM reduced the levels of miR-124-3p.1 and miR-139-5p in wounds. MiR-124-3p.1 and miR-139-5p inhibited the expression of JAG1 and Notch1, respectively, by directly targeting miRNAs in ESCs.

This work demonstrates that porcine ADM induced down-regulation of miR-124-3p.1/139-5p in wounds and up-regulation of JAG1/Notch1 in ESCs, thus enhancing cutaneous wound healing.