Miss Man Ching Siu^1,2,3, Dr Joanne Voisey^1,3, Dr Tuo Zang^1,2, Associate Professor  Leila  Cuttle^1,2

¹Queensland University Of Technology (QUT), Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Brisbane, , Australia, ²Burns and Trauma Research, School of Biomedical Sciences, QUT, Centre for Children’s Health Research (CCHR), Level 8, 62 Graham St,  South Brisbane, , Australia, ³Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health Research Centre, QUT, Brisbane,, Australia

Abstract:

After thermal injury, cell apoptosis, proliferation, migration and fibroproliferation are controlled by alterations in gene expression. Previous studies have identified changes in expression of 192 mRNAs associated with burn injury. Early studies have also reported mRNA regulation by microRNAs, which are small, non-coding RNAs. Previous studies using molecular techniques have identified 197 miRNAs associated with wound healing, burn wound healing and scarring. Five miRNAs specifically alter the expression of fibroproliferative markers, proliferation and migration of fibroblasts and keratinocytes post-burn. In this study, Nanostring nCounter was used for the first time to measure mRNA and miRNA expression in matched whole blood and plasma collected from burn patients. The Nanostring panels used to examine the samples included the Myeloid Innate Immunity v2 panel containing 730 mRNA targets, and the miRNA panel containing 800 miRNA targets. A total of 11 acute samples (2 – 21 days post-burn) and 13 severe scarring samples (1 – 5.8 years post-burn) from burn patients were examined and compared to results from 12 healthy controls. Nine significant genes were identified when comparing all burn samples to controls, and acute burn samples to controls. Eight significant genes were identified when comparing severe scarring burn samples to healthy controls while seven significant genes were identified when comparing acute burn to severe scarring burn samples. The miRNA assay also indicated several miRNAs were associated with burn scarring outcomes. Clinical parameters were included in data analysis to study the association between genetic markers and scarring outcomes. This study provides a better understanding of the underlying genes associated with post-burn healing and scarring, and suggests the need for future larger scale research, with more samples. Research such as this can facilitate the future development of clinical diagnostic or prognostic tools for better scar management and improved healing outcomes in burn patients.

Biography:

Esther is currently an MPhil student in the Burns and Trauma Research Group at the Queensland University of Technology. Esther’s research aims to examine genetic markers and proteins in the blood to advance the development of a diagnostic tool for burn wound healing and scarring