Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2021, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (29): 4728-4734.doi: 10.12307/2021.176

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Research progress of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha in tumor-like characteristics of keloid and its radioresistance

Huang Jingjing1, Jiang Ying2, Yu Jingping3   

  1. 1Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116044, Liaoning Province, China; 2Department of Dermatology, 3Department of Radiotherapy, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou 213003, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Received:2020-11-09 Revised:2020-11-17 Accepted:2021-01-07 Online:2021-10-18 Published:2021-07-22
  • Contact: Huang Jingjing, Master candidate, Physician, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116044, Liaoning Province, China
  • About author:Huang Jingjing, Master candidate, Physician, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116044, Liaoning Province, China
  • Supported by:
    Jiangsu Provincial "333 Project" Second Level Talent Research Funding Project, No. BRA2019025 (to YJP); Changzhou Municipal High-level Health Talent Project, No. 2016C2BJ007 (to YJP)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Keloid is a benign skin tumor with excessive proliferation of fibroblasts and deposition of collagen after trauma. Vascular occlusion, inflammation, fibroblast proliferation and collagen secretion in keloid tissues all lead to tissue hypoxia, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis and prognosis of keloids. 
OBJECTIVE: To review the research progress of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) in the tumor-like characteristics of keloid.
METHODS: CNKI, VIP, WanFang, PubMed, Biosos Preview, and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant articles from their inception to November 2020. The retrieval key words were “keloids, HIF-lα; radioresistance” in Chinese and English, respectively. After reading the title, abstract and full text, 104 articles that met the selection criteria were finally selected.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The hypoxic microenvironment inhibits the degradation of HIF-1α, and increased HIF-1α induces several biological behaviors in keloid tissue similar to malignant tumors, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, glycolysis, radioresistance, and recurrence after radiation. These pathophysiological processes in turn exacerbate tissue hypoxia and increase HIF-1αexponentially, thereby forming a vicious circle. Current treatments for keloids mainly focus on surgical resection combined with radiotherapy. HIF-1α targeting therapies, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, can significantly improve the hypoxic environment of keloid tissue, promote wound healing, and reverse the tumor-like properties of keloid fibroblasts. However, there are few studies on the treatment of keloids with hyperbaric oxygen therapy combined with radiotherapy, and the clinical treatment of keloids with HIF-1α as the target is still under exploration.

Key words: keloids, hypoxia-inducible factor 1, radioresistance, anaerobic microenvironment, review

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