Decoding the RNA regulome of human skin wound healing - towards a future wound care

Chronic wounds are common and severe, yet effective treatments are scarce, primarily due to inadequate insights into human wound healing mechanisms.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) evolving more rapidly than protein-coding genes and characterized by cell-specific expression and function, present promising therapeutic targets.

This project´s main goal is to elucidate the lncRNA-mediated gene regulation underpinning human skin wound healing and to develop regulatory RNA-focused wound treatment.

By integrating multiple insights, including histone modifications, chromatin accessibility, and transcriptomics, gained from single-cell and spatial analysis of human wounds, we will chart the first spatiotemporal gene expression regulation atlas of human skin wound healing and pressure ulcers, a chronic wound type with high mortality.

Next, we will navigate on this molecular map to identify the core lncRNA regulators of wound healing; this approach will be strengthened with high throughput lncRNA functional screenings followed by in-depth mechanistic dissection.

Moreover, by applying disruptive RNA therapeutic technology, we will modulate the most promising lncRNA candidates to enhance epithelial stem cell therapy.

By combining cutting-edge and multidisciplinary methodologies with unique access to patient materials, this project will set the stage for a paradigm shift in the understanding of human skin wound healing and take a leap toward a conceptually innovative wound therapy.