A miRNA's insight into the regenerating heart: a concise descriptive analysis

Dysregulation of miR-25-3p in Diabetic Nephropathy and Its Role in Inflammatory Response

To investigate the expression level of miR-25-3p in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic nephropathy (DN), and its effect on proliferation, apoptosis and inflammatory response of mesangial cells cultured with high glucose. Blood samples of all clinical subjects were collected for RT-qPCR analysis to detect serum miR-25-3p levels. Human mesangial cells (HMCs) cultured with high glucose were used to construct DN model in vitro. MTT assay, flow cytometry and ELISA were used to evaluate the effects of miR-25-3p on the proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammatory response of DN cell models. Serum miR-25-3p was decreased in both T2DM group and DN group, but more in DN group. Serum miR-25-3p was positively correlated with eGFR and negatively correlated with UAER. The expression of miR-25-3p was reduced in HMCs induced by high glucose. Transfection of miR-25-3p mimic could significantly up-regulate the miR-25-3p level in HMCs. Besides, high glucose culture resulted in abnormal proliferation of HMCs, reduced apoptotic cells, and increased inflammation. The addition of miR-25-3p mimic significantly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis and reduced the production of inflammatory factors. The abnormal reduction of serum miR-25-3p in DN indicates that it may be a potential biomarker for clinical diagnosis of DN. In in vitro experiments, miR-25-3p was involved in the progression of DN by regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, and inflammatory response.

Bufei Yishen Formula Inhibits the Cell Senescence in COPD by Up-Regulating the ZNF263 and Klotho Expression

Background

Bufei Yishen formula (BYF) is an effective prescription for the clinical treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the molecular mechanism by which it exerts its pharmacological effects remains to be explored.

Methods

The human bronchial cell line BEAS-2B was treated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE). Cellular senescence markers were detected by Western blot and ELISA. Potential transcription factor of klotho was predicted using JASPAR and USCS databases.

Results

CSE induced cellular senescence with intracellular accumulation of cellular senescence biomarkers (p16, p21 and p27) and increased secretion of senescence-related secretory phenotypic (SASP) factors (IL-6, IL-8, and CCL3). In contrast, BYF treatment inhibited CSE-induced cellular senescence. CSE suppressed the transcription, expression and secretion of klotho, whereas BYF treatment rescued its transcription, expression and secretion. CSE downregulated the protein level of ZNF263, whereas BYF treatment rescued the expression of ZNF263. Furthermore, ZNF263-overexpressing BEAS-2B cells could inhibit CSE-induced cellular senescence and SASP factor secretion by upregulating the expression of klotho.

Conclusion

This study revealed a novel pharmacological mechanism by which BYF alleviates clinical symptoms of COPD patients, and regulating ZNF263 and klotho expression may be beneficial to the treatment and prevention of COPD.

Study on the Function and Mechanism of miR-585-3p Inhibiting the Progression of Ovarian Cancer Cells by Targeting FSCN1 to Block the MAPK Signaling Pathway

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the leading cause of death for women diagnosed with gynecological cancer. Studies have shown that dysregulated miRNA expression is related to various cancers, including OC. Here, we aimed to explore the biological function and mechanism of miR-585-3p in the occurrence and development of OC. The expression level of miR-585-3p was found to be low in OC tissues and cells. We analyzed the biological function of miR-585-3p in OC through in vitro cell experiments. The results indicated that overexpression of miR-585-3p inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration of SW626 cells, while low expression of miR-585-3p had the opposite effect in SKOV3 cells. We then screened the target genes of miR-585-3p through miRDB database and detected the expression of target genes in OC cells. FSCN1 was found to be most significantly upregulated in OC cells. Dual-luciferase reporter assays revealed FSCN1 as a potential target of miR-585-3p. Western blot analysis showed that miR-585-3p targeted FSCN1 to inhibit protein phosphorylation of ERK. In vivo animal experiments also confirmed that miR-585-3p targets FSCN1 to inhibit tumor growth and block the MAPK signaling pathway. In summary, miR-585-3p inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of OC cells by targeting FSCN1, and its mechanism of action may be achieved by inhibiting the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. miR-585-3p may serve as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for OC.

Regulation of cardiomyocyte fate plasticity: a key strategy for cardiac regeneration

With the high morbidity and mortality rates, cardiovascular diseases have become one of the most concerning diseases worldwide. The heart of adult mammals can hardly regenerate naturally after injury because adult cardiomyocytes have already exited the cell cycle, which subseqently triggers cardiac remodeling and heart failure. Although a series of pharmacological treatments and surgical methods have been utilized to improve heart functions, they cannot replenish the massive loss of beating cardiomyocytes after injury. Here, we summarize the latest research progress in cardiac regeneration and heart repair through altering cardiomyocyte fate plasticity, which is emerging as an effective strategy to compensate for the loss of functional cardiomyocytes and improve the impaired heart functions. First, residual cardiomyocytes in damaged hearts re-enter the cell cycle to acquire the proliferative capacity by the modifications of cell cycle-related genes or regulation of growth-related signals. Additionally, non-cardiomyocytes such as cardiac fibroblasts, were shown to be reprogrammed into cardiomyocytes and thus favor the repair of damaged hearts. Moreover, pluripotent stem cells have been shown to transform into cardiomyocytes to promote heart healing after myocardial infarction (MI). Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that environmental oxygen, energy metabolism, extracellular factors, nerves, non-coding RNAs, etc. play the key regulatory functions in cardiac regeneration. These findings provide the theoretical basis of targeting cellular fate plasticity to induce cardiomyocyte proliferation or formation, and also provide the clues for stimulating heart repair after injury.