miR-21 Promotes Keratinocyte Migration and Re-epithelialization During Wound Healing

• Main Author: Xue Yang, Jun Wang, Shui-Long Guo, Kai-Ji Fan, Jun Li, You-Liang Wang, Yan Teng, Xiao Yang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ivyspring International Publisher 2011-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Biological Sciences
• Online Access: http://www.biolsci.org/v07p0685.htm

<p>MicroRNAs involved in keratinocyte migration and wound healing are largely unknown. Here, we revealed the indispensable role of miR-21 in keratinocyte migration and in re-epithelialization during wound healing in mice. In HaCaT cell, miR-21 could be upregulated by TGF-&#946;1. Similar to the effect of TGF-&#946;1, miR-21 overexpression promoted keratinocyte migration. Conversely, miR-21 knockdown attenuated TGF-&#946;1-induced keratinocyte migration, suggesting that miR-21 was essential for TGF-&#946;-driven keratinocyte migration. Furthermore, we found that miR-21 was upregulated during wound healing, coincident with the temporal expression pattern of TGF-&#946;1. Consistently, knockdown of endogenous miR-21 using a specific antagomir dramatically delayed re-epithelialization possibly due to the reduced keratinocyte migration. TIMP3 and TIAM1, direct targets of miR-21, were verified to be regulated by miR-21 in vitro and in vivo, indicating that these two molecules might contribute to miR-21-induced keratinocyte migration. Taken together, our results demonstrate that miR-21 promotes keratinocyte migration and boosts re-epithelialization during skin wound healing.</p>