Circulating Exosomal miR-20b-5p Inhibition Restores Wnt9b Signaling and Reverses Diabetes-Associated Impaired Wound Healing.

Abstract

At present, developing therapeutic strategies to improve wound healing in individuals with diabetes remains challenging. Exosomes represent a promising nanomaterial from which microRNAs (miRNAs) can be isolated. These miRNAs have the potential to exert therapeutic effects, and thus, determining the potential therapeutic contributions of specific miRNAs circulating in exosomes is of great importance. In the present study, circulating exosomal miRNAs are identified in diabetic patients and assessed for their roles in the context of diabetic wound healing. A significant upregulation of miR-20b-5p is observed in exosomes isolated from patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and this miRNA is able to suppress human umbilical vein endothelial cell angiogenesis via regulation of Wnt9b/β-catenin signaling. It is found that the application of either miR-20b-5p or diabetic exosomes to wound sites is sufficient to slow wound healing and angiogenesis. In diabetic mice, it is found that knocking out miR-20b-5p significantly enhances wound healing and promotes wound angiogenesis. Together, these findings thus provide strong evidence that miR-20b-5p is highly enriched in exosomes from patients with T2DM and can be transferred to cells of the vascular endothelium, where it targets Wnt9b signaling to negatively regulate cell functionality and angiogenesis.

• Authors: Yuan Xiong, Lang Chen, Chenchen Yan, Wu Zhou, Yori Endo, Jing Liu, Liangcong Hu, Yiqiang Hu, Bobin Mi, Guohui Liu
• Journal: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) (Small) Vol. 16 Issue 3 Pg. e1904044 (01 2020) ISSN: 1613-6829 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 31867895 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Chemical References

• MIRN20b microRNA, human
• MicroRNAs
• WNT9B protein, human
• Wnt Proteins

Topics

• Animals
• Case-Control Studies
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 (metabolism, physiopathology)
• Exosomes (metabolism)
• Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
• Humans
• Mice
• MicroRNAs (antagonists & inhibitors, blood)
• Wnt Proteins (metabolism)
• Wound Healing