LncRNA TRHDE-AS1 inhibit the scar fibroblasts proliferation via miR-181a-5p/PTEN axis

Abstract Hypertrophic scar (HS), a fibroproliferative disorder caused by abnormal wound healing after skin injury, which is characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix and invasive growth of fibroblasts. Recent studies have shown that some non-coding RNA implicated the formation of HS, but the mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we found that lncRNA TRHDE-AS1 was downregulated in HS tissues and HSFs, and the level of lncRNA TRHDE-AS1 negatively correlated with the level of miR-181a-5p in HS tissue and HSFs. Overexpressed lncRNA TRHDE-AS1 significantly suppressed miR-181a-5p level, while promoted HSFs apoptosis and inhibited HSFs proliferation. Further study shown that PTEN was a direct target of miR-181a-5p, and lncRNA TRHDE-AS1 served as a molecular sponge for miR-181a-5p to regulate the expression of PTEN. Overexpression of PTEN could eliminate lncRNA TRHDE-AS1-mediated proliferation suppression of HSFs. In conclusion, our study suggested that lncRNA TRHDE-AS1/miR-181a-5p/PTEN axis plays an important role in promoting hypertrophic scar formation, which may be effectively used as a therapeutic target for hypertrophic scar treatment.