Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Exacerbates Keloid Cell Proliferation by Regulating Telomerase

Abstract

Objectives: Our goal was to investigate the relationship between keloid and telomerase as well as clarifying the influence of Wnt/β-catenin signaling on keloid cell proliferation. Methods: Tissues from 18 keloid patients were collected for further study. Keloid progenitor cells (KPC) and skin progenitor cells (SKP) were both included in this study. Lenti-virus transfection was used to divide cells into different groups in which cells were treated with different substances: negative control (NC) group, wnt10a siRNA group, β-catenin siRNA group and TERT siRNA group. KPC cells were injected into 20 male BALB/c nude mice in order to build tumor models. Several experiments including immunohistochemistry, western blot and RT-PCR were conducted in order to detect the corresponding protein expressions and relative mRNA levels. MTT assay and flow cytometry were also conducted for assessing cell proliferation and apoptosis status. Results: β-catenin and telomerase expression levels in keloid tissues were elevated compared to normal tissues (all P P P Conclusions: Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is able to exacerbate keloid cell proliferation and inhibit the apoptosis of keloid cells through its interaction with telomerase