Research group Ning Xu Landén
Chronic wounds are major and rising health and economic burdens worldwide and lack effective treatment. Understanding the roles of novel non-protein-coding RNAs may open a new avenue for treating hard-to-heal wounds.
Skin wound healing
Chronic wounds are a common and severe medical problem lacking efficient treatments. They are trapped in a constant inflammatory state and fail to progress through the normal stages of wound healing. Although constituting the majority of the transcriptional output of the human genome, the functional importance of non-protein-coding RNA (ncRNAs) has only recently been recognized. Compared to protein-coding genes, ncRNAs' expression and function are more tissue- and cell-type-specific, underscoring their great potential as precise therapeutic and diagnostic entities.
Our research aims to understand the role of ncRNAs in the skin immune system in response to injury and identify ncRNAs capable of resolving chronic wound inflammation and reactivating the healing program. For this, we are making efforts to (i) establish a gene expression map of human acute, and chronic wounds with single-cell resolution; (ii) identify the biological functions and the underlying molecular mechanisms of wound-related ncRNAs; (iii) develop RNA-based wound treatments. From a new angle, our study will add to the understanding of wound biology and chronic wound pathogenesis, which will open new avenues for disease stratification and highlight novel drug targets for clinical studies.
Group members

Ning Xu Landén
Senior researcher/ Research group leaderXiaowei Bian, PhD student.
Jennifer Geara, PhD student.
Zhuang Liu Postdoc.
Guanglin Niu Postdoc.
Minna Piipponen Postdoc.
Maria Toma, PhD student.
Letian Zhang, PhD student.
Monica Maselli ERASMUS+ master student.
Resarch support
- The Swedish Research Council.
- Cancerfonden.
- Ragnar Söderbergs Foundation.
- Welander and Finsens Foundation (Hudfonden).
- LEO foundation.
- Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine.
- Karolinska Institutet.
Key publications
Single-Cell Analysis Reveals Major Histocompatibility Complex II‒Expressing Keratinocytes in Pressure Ulcers with Worse Healing Outcomes.
Li D, Cheng S, Pei Y, Sommar P, Kärner J, Herter EK, Toma MA, Zhang L, Pham K, Cheung YT, Liu Z, Chen X, Eidsmo L, Deng Q, Xu Landén N
J Invest Dermatol 2022 Mar;142(3 Pt A):705-716
miR-19a/b and miR-20a Promote Wound Healing by Regulating the Inflammatory Response of Keratinocytes.
Li D, Peng H, Qu L, Sommar P, Wang A, Chu T, Li X, Bi X, Liu Q, Gallais Sérézal I, Rollman O, Lohcharoenkal W, Zheng X, Eliasson Angelstig S, Grünler J, Pivarcsi A, Sonkoly E, Catrina SB, Xiao C, Ståhle M, Mi QS, Zhou L, Xu Landén N
J Invest Dermatol 2021 03;141(3):659-671
MicroRNA-34 Family Enhances Wound Inflammation by Targeting LGR4.
Wu J, Li X, Li D, Ren X, Li Y, Herter EK, Qian M, Toma MA, Wintler AM, Sérézal IG, Rollman O, Ståhle M, Wikstrom JD, Ye X, Landén NX
J Invest Dermatol 2020 02;140(2):465-476.e11
MicroRNA-132 enhances transition from inflammation to proliferation during wound healing.
Li D, Wang A, Liu X, Meisgen F, Grünler J, Botusan IR, Narayanan S, Erikci E, Li X, Blomqvist L, Du L, Pivarcsi A, Sonkoly E, Chowdhury K, Catrina SB, Ståhle M, Landén NX
J Clin Invest 2015 Aug;125(8):3008-26
MicroRNA-31 Promotes Skin Wound Healing by Enhancing Keratinocyte Proliferation and Migration.
Li D, Li XI, Wang A, Meisgen F, Pivarcsi A, Sonkoly E, Ståhle M, Landén NX
J Invest Dermatol 2015 Jun;135(6):1676-1685
MicroRNA-132 with Therapeutic Potential in Chronic Wounds.
Li X, Li D, Wang A, Chu T, Lohcharoenkal W, Zheng X, Grünler J, Narayanan S, Eliasson S, Herter EK, Wang Y, Ma Y, Ehrström M, Eidsmo L, Kasper M, Pivarcsi A, Sonkoly E, Catrina SB, Ståhle M, Xu Landén N
J Invest Dermatol 2017 12;137(12):2630-2638
Human skin long noncoding RNA WAKMAR1 regulates wound healing by enhancing keratinocyte migration.
Li D, Kular L, Vij M, Herter EK, Li X, Wang A, Chu T, Toma MA, Zhang L, Liapi E, Mota A, Blomqvist L, Gallais Sérézal I, Rollman O, Wikstrom JD, Bienko M, Berglund D, Ståhle M, Sommar P, Jagodic M, Landén NX
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019 05;116(19):9443-9452
WAKMAR2, a Long Noncoding RNA Downregulated in Human Chronic Wounds, Modulates Keratinocyte Motility and Production of Inflammatory Chemokines.
Herter EK, Li D, Toma MA, Vij M, Li X, Visscher D, Wang A, Chu T, Sommar P, Blomqvist L, Berglund D, Ståhle M, Wikstrom JD, Xu Landén N
J Invest Dermatol 2019 06;139(6):1373-1384
Psoriasis Skin Inflammation-Induced microRNA-26b Targets NCEH1 in Underlying Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue.
Cheung L, Fisher RM, Kuzmina N, Li D, Li X, Werngren O, Blomqvist L, Ståhle M, Landén NX
J Invest Dermatol 2016 Mar;136(3):640-648
Transition from inflammation to proliferation: a critical step during wound healing.
Landén NX, Li D, Ståhle M
Cell Mol Life Sci 2016 10;73(20):3861-85