Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomal MicroRNAs Suppress Myofibroblast Differentiation by Inhibiting the Transforming Growth Factor-β/SMAD2 Pathway During Wound Healing

: Excessive scar formation caused by myofibroblast aggregations is of great clinical importance during skin wound healing. Studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can promote skin regeneration, but whether MSCs contribute to scar formation remains undefined. We found that umbilical cord-derived MSCs (uMSCs) reduced scar formation and myofibroblast accumulation in a skin-defect mouse model. We found that these functions were mainly dependent on uMSC-derived exosomes (uMSC-Exos) and especially exosomal microRNAs. Through high-throughput RNA sequencing and functional analysis, we demonstrated that a group of uMSC-Exos enriched in specific microRNAs (miR-21, -23a, -125b, and -145) played key roles in…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 81301644, 31471390, 31201110, 81272119
• SA
  Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality