miR-19a/b and miR-20a promote wound healing by regulating the inflammatory response of keratinocytes.

Persistent and impaired inflammation impedes tissue healing and is characteristic of chronic wounds. A better understanding of the mechanisms controlling wound inflammation is needed. Here we show that in human wound-edge keratinocytes, the expression of miR-17, miR-18a, miR-19a, miR-19b, and miR-20a, which all belong to the miR-17∼92 cluster, is upregulated during wound repair. However, their levels are lower in chronic ulcers than acute wounds at the proliferative phase. Conditional knockout of miR-17∼92 in keratinocytes as well as injection of miR-19a/b and miR-20a antisense inhibitors into wound-edges enhanced inflammation and delayed wound closure in mice. In contrast, conditional overexpression of the miR-17∼92 cluster or miR-19b alone in mice keratinocytes accelerated wound closure in vivo. Mechanistically, miR-19a/b and miR-20a decreased TLR3-mediated NF-κB activation by targeting SHCBP1 and SEMA7A, respectively, reducing the production of inflammatory chemokines/cytokines by keratinocytes. Thus, as crucial regulators of wound inflammation, lack of miR-19a/b and miR-20a may contribute to sustained inflammation and impaired healing in chronic wounds. In line with this, we show that a combinatory treatment with miR-19b and miR-20a improved wound healing in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes.