An Innovative Approach to Dissecting Keloid Disease Leading to Identification of the Retinoic Acid Pathway as a Potential Therapeutic Target.

AIM Despite extensive research into keloid scarring etiopathogenesis, no biomarker has led to an effective therapy. Retinoic acid (RA) has been implicated in key functions including cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, and cell differentiation and shown to affect profibrotic factors, including Transforming growth factor β. However, confirmation of the genetic expression and manipulation of this molecular target have not yet been explored in keloids. The aim, here, was to develop and test new hypotheses underlying keloids by taking the novel approach of examining this entity from both site-specific and dermoepidermal perspectives, leading to targeted potential therapies.