Project description:3mm punch biopsies were taken from a healed normotrophic scar and a contralateral matched control site in burn patients with a scar at least 1 year old. Fibroblasts were cultured from explants to passage 2 and DNA was extracted and run on methylation arrays to examine differences in scar and control fibroblast gene expression Normotrophic scar maintains its abnormal scar phenotype for the rest of the patients life, long after the injury has healed. Differences in gene expression may reaveal target genes that can be modulated to improve scar appearance
Project description:3mm punch biopsies were taken from a healed normotrophic scar and a contralateral matched control site in burn patients with a scar at least 1 year old. Fibroblasts were cultured from explants to passage 2 and RNA was extracted and run on expression arrays to examine differences in scar and control fibroblast gene expression Normotrophic scar maintains its abnormal scar phenotype for the rest of the patients life, long after the injury has healed. Differences in gene expression may reaveal target genes that can be modulated to improve scar appearance
Project description:Burn injuries are devastating traumas, often leading to life-long consequences that extend beyond the observable burn scar. Burn injury patients commonly develop chronic neurological disorders but the long-lasting impacts of burn injuries on neurons and glia in the brain is unknown. Whole transcriptome RNA-sequencing from cortical excitatory neurons, inhibitory neurons, astrocytes and microglia showed very few changes to the expression of genes with known functions five weeks following a non-severe burn injury in adult mice. However, genes related to GABA-A receptors in excitatory neurons and several cellular functions in microglia was found to be to differentially expressed in burn injured mice. These findings shed light on the long-term effect of burn injuries on the brain and may help identify potential therapeutic targets and windows to prevent neurological dysfunction in burn patients.
Project description:3mm punch biopsies were taken from a healed normotrophic scar in burn patients with a scar at least 1 year old and fibroblasts were cultured from explants. Previous transcriptomic and epigenomic work found MKX and FOXF2 genes were overexpressed and these were knocked down using siRNA. RNA was then extracted and analysed using RNAseq to determine genes and pathways affected by this knockdown
Project description:Marjolin's ulcer is a a rare and aggressive cutaneous malignancy that can arise on previously injured skin, established scars, and chronic non-healing wounds. It is most often found in burn scars, but it can also occur in other types of wounds, including venous stasis ulcers, pressure sores, and vaccination sites. The most common histological type of Marjolin’s ulcers is squamous cell carcinoma, however basal cell carcinomas, malignant melanomas, and sarcomas have also been reported. All parts of the body could potentially be affected yet the lower extremities are the anatomic sites most commonly involved. While SCCs commonly have a metastasis rate of 0.5 to 3.0 percent, those arising from burn scars metastasize at a rate in excess of 30 percent. The 5-year survival after a diagnosis of Marjolin’s ulcer was found to be 50 percent. The transformation to a malignancy can occur either chronically, over a period of more than 35 years, or occasionally within a year of the original injury. The exact mechanism of this transformation is not fully understood, but it is thought to be related to chronic keratinocyte dysfunction during the healing process of severe burn wounds. Surgical excision is the main treatment for Marjolin's ulcer and provides the best chance of survival. In a previous study, we investigated the bulk transcriptional changes that lead to Marjolin's ulcer by comparing global gene expression changes between squamous cells present in a squamous cell carcinoma versus those present within Marjolin's ulcer (MU) (Sinha et. al. JBCR 2017). This imparted novel insights into mechanisms underlying divergent clinical features of these cutaneous cancers. The goal of our current study is to characterize a new case of Marjolin's ulcer in a patient under our care by analyzing the cell types, their frequencies, and their individual transcriptional responses within a burn scar versus within Marjolin's ulcer. To achieve this, we conducted single-cell RNA sequencing on two excised tissues: 1. a sample from the center of the tumor (tumor core), and 2. another sample from the margin of tumor-free scar tissue.
Project description:Marjolin's ulcer is a a rare and aggressive cutaneous malignancy that can arise on previously injured skin, established scars, and chronic non-healing wounds. It is most often found in burn scars, but it can also occur in other types of wounds, including venous stasis ulcers, pressure sores, and vaccination sites. The most common histological type of Marjolin’s ulcers is squamous cell carcinoma, however basal cell carcinomas, malignant melanomas, and sarcomas have also been reported. All parts of the body could potentially be affected yet the lower extremities are the anatomic sites most commonly involved. While SCCs commonly have a metastasis rate of 0.5 to 3.0 percent, those arising from burn scars metastasize at a rate in excess of 30 percent. The 5-year survival after a diagnosis of Marjolin’s ulcer was found to be 50 percent. The transformation to a malignancy can occur either chronically, over a period of more than 35 years, or occasionally within a year of the original injury. The exact mechanism of this transformation is not fully understood, but it is thought to be related to chronic keratinocyte dysfunction during the healing process of severe burn wounds. Surgical excision is the main treatment for Marjolin's ulcer and provides the best chance of survival. In a previous study, we investigated the bulk transcriptional changes that lead to Marjolin's ulcer by comparing global gene expression changes between squamous cells present in a squamous cell carcinoma versus those present within Marjolin's ulcer (MU) (Sinha et. al. JBCR 2017). This imparted novel insights into mechanisms underlying divergent clinical features of these cutaneous cancers. The goal of our current study is to characterize a new case of Marjolin's ulcer in a patient under our care by analyzing the cell types, their frequencies, and their individual transcriptional responses within a burn scar versus within Marjolin's ulcer. To achieve this, we conducted single-cell RNA sequencing on two excised tissues: 1. a sample from the center of the tumor (tumor core), and 2. another sample from the margin of tumor-free scar tissue.
Project description:Excessive repair after burn or trauma will lead to the formation of pathological scar. TGF-β1 is a powerful growth factor after wound healing. It is considered to be a key regulator of HS and various fibrotic diseases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can widely participate in the pathophysiological processes of various diseases by participating in post transcriptional gene regulation. At present, there is no research report on miR-361 and hypertrophic scar. This study found that miR-361 in HS is down-regulated. MiR-361 can inhibit the proliferation of HS fibroblasts and promote their apoptosis by inhibiting TGF-β1. Moreover, miR-361 can inhibit the formation of rabbit ear scar by inhibiting the expression of TGF-β1.