Forensic Context

A review of human studies identified 197 miRNAs associated with wound healing, burn wound healing, and scarring, with the miR-146a-5p being upregulated in venous ulcers compared to normal skin and acute wounds [Siu et al. DOI:10.1111/wrr.13100]. In a separate human postmortem study, the miR-146a-5p was significantly decreased in the prefrontal cortex of depressed suicide subjects compared to non-psychiatric controls [Smalheiser et al. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0033201]. A study in mice demonstrated that the miR-146a-5p acts as a negative regulator of TGF-β signaling in skeletal muscle after acute contusion, where its expression is reduced in a fibrotic model and its overexpression inhibits fibrosis markers both in vitro and in vivo by directly targeting Smad4 [Sun et al. DOI:10.1093/abbs/gmx052]. In human and mouse studies, the miR-146a-5p was identified as a consistent marker of antidepressant response, being downregulated in peripheral blood of treatment responders and regulating genes in MAPK/Wnt signaling pathways [Lopez et al. DOI:10.1038/ncomms15497].