Long non-coding RNA HOXA11-AS contributes to the formation of keloid by relieving the inhibition of miR-182-5p on ZNF217.

BACKGROUND

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) dysregulation is demonstrated to be associated with disease progression. Mounting studies show that lncRNA promotes or inhibits the development of keloid. We aimed to disclose the role of homebox A11 antisense RNA (HOXA11-AS) in the formation of keloid.

METHODS

Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was adopted for expression analysis of HOXA11-AS, miR-182-5p and zinc finger protein 217 (ZNF217) mRNA, and the expression of ZNF protein and marker proteins was detected by western blot. Cell proliferation, cell migration and cell apoptosis were investigated using CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay and flow cytometry assay, respectively. The potential interplay between miR-182-5p and HOXA11-AS or ZNF217 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RIP assay and pull-down assay. The role of HOXA11 in vivo was studied by establishing animal models.

RESULTS

HOXA11-AS was highly expressed in tissues and fibroblasts of keloid. Deficiency of HOXA11-AS blocked the proliferation and migration of keloid fibroblasts and induced fibroblast apoptosis. HOXA11-AS directly combined to miR-182-5p whose downregulation reversed the effects of HOXA11-AS knockdown. ZNF217 was a target of miR-182-5p, and HOXA11-AS indirectly promoted ZNF217 expression by binding to miR-182-5p. MiR-182-5p enrichment also blocked keloid fibroblast proliferation, survival and migration, while further ZNF217 overexpression abolished these effects. HOXA11-AS knockdown also hindered the growth of keloid in mouse models.

CONCLUSION

High expression of HOXA11-AS promoted the formation and growth of keloid through the upregulation of ZNF217 by targeting miR-182-5p, and the inhibition of HOXA11-AS might be a novel strategy to prevent keloid development.