MicroRNAs in skin and wound healing

Banerjee J, Chan YC, Sen CK. MicroRNAs in skin and wound healing. Physiol Genomics 43: 543-556, 2011. First published October 19, 2010; doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00157.2010.-MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous RNA molecules similar to 22 nt in length. miRNAs are capable of posttranscriptional gene regulation by binding to their target messenger RNAs (mRNAs), leading to mRNA degradation or suppression of translation. miRNAs have recently been shown to play pivotal roles in skin development and are linked to various skin pathologies, cancer, and wound healing. This review focuses on the role of miRNAs in cutaneous biology, the various methods of miRNA modulation, and the therapeutic opportunities in treatment of skin diseases and wound healing.