Targeting miR-155 to Treat Experimental Scleroderma

Sci Rep. 2016 Feb 1:6:20314. doi: 10.1038/srep20314.

Abstract

Scleroderma is a refractory autoimmune skin fibrotic disorder. Alterations of microRNAs in lesional skin could be a new approach to treating the disease. Here, we found that expression of miR-155 was up regulated in lesional skin tissue from patients with either systemic or localized scleroderma, and correlated with fibrosis area. Then we demonstrated the potential of miR-155 as a therapeutic target in pre-clinical scleroderma models. MiR-155(-/-) mice were resistant to bleomycin induced skin fibrosis. Moreover, topical antagomiR-155 could effectively treat mice primed with subcutaneous bleomycin. In primary skin fibroblast, miR-155 silencing could inhibit collagen synthesis function, as well as signaling intensity of two pro-fibrotic pathways, Wnt/β-catenin and Akt, simultaneously. We further showed that miR-155 could regulate the two pathways via directly targeting casein kinase 1α (CK1α) and Src homology 2-containing inositol phosphatase-1 (SHIP-1), as previous reports. Mice with miR-155 knockout or topical antagomir-155 treatment showed inhibited Wnt/β-catenin and Akt signaling in skin upon bleomycin challenge. Together, our data suggest the potential of miR-155 silencing as a promising treatment for dermal fibrosis, especially in topical applications.

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Topical
  • Animals
  • Bleomycin / administration & dosage
  • Bleomycin / adverse effects
  • Collagen / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism
  • Fibrosis
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Silencing
  • Gene Targeting*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • Scleroderma, Systemic / chemically induced
  • Scleroderma, Systemic / genetics*
  • Scleroderma, Systemic / pathology
  • Scleroderma, Systemic / therapy
  • Signal Transduction
  • Skin / metabolism
  • Skin / pathology
  • Up-Regulation
  • Wnt Signaling Pathway

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • Mirn155 microRNA, mouse
  • Bleomycin
  • Collagen
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt