{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T18:43:36Z","timestamp":1786214616250,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786147200000},"content-version":"am","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Keloids are characterized by persistent fibroblast activation and excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation. This study aimed to clarify the role of miR-542-3p in keloid fibroblasts and to determine whether ATG7 functions as a direct downstream mediator regulating fibroblast viability\/apoptosis and profibrotic protein expression. Human keloid fibroblasts (HKFs) and human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) were used. miR-542-3p expression was quantified by RT-qPCR. HKFs were transfected with miR-542-3p mimic\/inhibitor and corresponding negative controls. Cell viability was assessed using CCK-8, and apoptosis was evaluated by Annexin V-FITC\/PI flow cytometry. Protein levels of collagen I, collagen III and \u03b1-SMA were examined by western blotting. Direct targeting of ATG7 by miR-542-3p was tested using wild-type\/mutant ATG7 3\u2019-UTR dual-luciferase reporter assays. ATG7 knockdown (si-ATG7) and epistasis (miR-542-3p inhibitor \u00b1 si-ATG7) experiments were performed to assess functional dependency. miR-542-3p was significantly upregulated in HKFs compared with HSFs. miR-542-3p inhibition reduced HKF viability and increased apoptosis, whereas miR-542-3p overexpression showed the opposite trend. miR-542-3p positively regulated collagen I, collagen III and \u03b1-SMA protein levels. Dual-luciferase assays confirmed that miR-542-3p directly binds the ATG7 3\u2019-UTR, and ATG7 protein abundance was inversely regulated by miR-542-3p. Functionally, ATG7 knockdown increased HKF viability and elevated profibrotic marker expression, and it attenuated the anti-fibrotic effects induced by miR-542-3p inhibition. miR-542-3p promotes a pro-survival, profibrotic phenotype in keloid fibroblasts by directly targeting ATG7. The miR-542-3p\/ATG7 axis may represent a mechanistically supported candidate pathway for further investigation in keloid fibrosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/jbcr\/irag129","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T11:09:14Z","timestamp":1786100954000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["miR-542-3p targets ATG7 to regulate viability and profibrotic marker expression in human keloid fibroblasts"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6106-3207","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ruihua","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Burnand Plastic, Xingtai People's Hospital , No. 16 Hongxing Street, Xingtai, Hebei 054000 \u00a0","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-9680-6975","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jin","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Burnand Plastic, Xingtai People's Hospital , No. 16 Hongxing Street, Xingtai, Hebei 054000 \u00a0","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-6878-0636","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qianqian","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Burnand Plastic, Xingtai People's Hospital , No. 16 Hongxing Street, Xingtai, Hebei 054000 \u00a0","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3569-5833","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jie","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Burnand Plastic, Xingtai People's Hospital , No. 16 Hongxing Street, Xingtai, Hebei 054000 \u00a0","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4109-773X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jia","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Burnand Plastic, Xingtai People's Hospital , No. 16 Hongxing Street, Xingtai, Hebei 054000 \u00a0","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-9617-0803","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yafeng","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spinal Surgery, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University , No. 89 Donggang Road, Yuhua District, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050031 \u00a0","place":["China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]]},"container-title":["Journal of Burn Care &amp; Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/jbcr\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/jbcr\/irag129\/70558793\/irag129.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"am","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/jbcr\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/jbcr\/irag129\/70558793\/irag129.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]],"date-time":"2026-08-08T18:28:50Z","timestamp":1786213730000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/jbcr\/advance-article\/doi\/10.1093\/jbcr\/irag129\/8756984"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/jbcr\/irag129","relation":{},"ISSN":["1559-047X","1559-0488"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1559-047X","type":"print"},{"value":"1559-0488","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,8]]},"article-number":"irag129"}}