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Review
. 2022 Aug 3;12(8):1072.
doi: 10.3390/biom12081072.

Anti-Inflammatory microRNAs for Treating Inflammatory Skin Diseases

Shih-Chun Yang  1 , Ahmed Alalaiwe  2 , Zih-Chan Lin  3 , Yu-Chih Lin  4 , Ibrahim A Aljuffali  5 , Jia-You Fang  3   6   7
Affiliations
Review

Anti-Inflammatory microRNAs for Treating Inflammatory Skin Diseases

Shih-Chun Yang et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Skin inflammation occurs due to immune dysregulation because of internal disorders, infections, and allergic reactions. The inflammation of the skin is a major sign of chronic autoimmune inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (AD), and lupus erythematosus. Although there are many therapies for treating these cutaneous inflammation diseases, their recurrence rates are high due to incomplete resolution. MicroRNA (miRNA) plays a critical role in skin inflammation by regulating the expression of protein-coding genes at the posttranscriptional level during pathogenesis and homeostasis maintenance. Some miRNAs possess anti-inflammatory features, which are beneficial for mitigating the inflammatory response. miRNAs that are reduced in inflammatory skin diseases can be supplied transiently using miRNA mimics and agomir. miRNA-based therapies that can target multiple genes in a given pathway are potential candidates for the treatment of skin inflammation. This review article offers an overview of the function of miRNA in skin inflammation regulation, with a focus on psoriasis, AD, and cutaneous wounds. Some bioactive molecules can target and modulate miRNAs to achieve the objective of inflammation suppression. This review also reports the anti-inflammatory efficacy of these molecules through modulating miRNA expression. The main limitations of miRNA-based therapies are rapid biodegradation and poor skin and cell penetration. Consideration was given to improving these drawbacks using the approaches of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), nanocarriers, exosomes, and low-frequency ultrasound. A formulation design for successful miRNA delivery into skin and target cells is also described in this review. The possible use of miRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic modalities could open a novel opportunity for the diagnosis and treatment of inflammation-associated skin diseases.

Keywords: anti-inflammation; inflammatory disease; keratinocyte; microRNA; skin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The biogenesis and gene expression of miRNA in cells.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The function of miRNA in the regulation of innate or adaptive immune responses in different cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The role of miRNA in the regulation of T cell differentiation and cytokine production in psoriasis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The dysregulation of miRNAs involved in atopic dermatitis and their effect on pathogenesis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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