Mir-335-5p as a potential regulator of LRP1 expression in abdominal aortic aneurysm

Circular RNA suppression of vascular smooth muscle apoptosis through the miR-545-3p/CKAP4 axis during abdominal aortic aneurysm formation

BACKGROUND

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are an important cause of cardiovascular deaths. The loss of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) has been reported to be related to the pathology of AAA. This study focused on investigating the function of circ_0002168 in VSMC apoptosis.

METHODS

Levels of genes and proteins were measured by quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot. The growth of VSMCs was determined by using cell counting kit-8 assay, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, flow cytometry and the evaluation of caspase-3 activity analysis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production as well as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. The binding between miR-545-3p and circ_0002168 or Cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4) was confirmed by bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation, and pull-down assays.

RESULTS

Circ_0002168 decreased in the aortic tissues of patients with AAA. Functionally, ectopic overexpression of circ_0002168 dramatically induced proliferation and suppressed apoptosis in VSMCs. Mechanistically, circ_0002168 sequestered miR-545-3p to release CKAP4 expression via the ceRNA mechanism, indicating the circ_0002168/miR-545-3p/CKAP4 feedback loop in VSMCs. Increased miR-545-3p and a decreased CKAP4 expression were observed in patients with AAA. Rescue experiments showed that miR-545-3p reversed the protective effects of circ_0002168 on VSMC proliferation. Moreover, inhibition of miR-545-3p could restrain the apoptosis of VSMCs, which was abolished by CKAP4 silencing.

CONCLUSION

Circ_0002168 has a protective effect on VSMC proliferation by regulating the miR-545-3p/CKAP4 axis, adding further understanding of the pathogenesis of AAA and a potential therapeutic approach in AAA management.

Th2 IL-4/IL-13 dual blockade with Dupilumab is linked to some Emergent Th17 type Diseases including seronegative arthritis, enthesitis/enthesopathy, but not humoral autoimmune diseases

Dupilumab, an IL-4/IL-13 receptor blocker, has been linked to emergent seronegative inflammatory arthritis and psoriasis that form part of the spondyloarthropathy (SpA) spectrum. We systematically investigated patterns of immune disorders including predominantly Th17- (SpA pattern), Th2-mediated disorders and humoral autoimmune pattern diseases, using VigiBase, the World Health Organization's (WHO) global pharmacovigilance of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Several bioinformatics databases and repositories were mined to couple Dupilumab-related immune-pharmacovigilance with molecular cascades relevant to reported findings. 37,848 Dupilumab ADR cases were reported, with skin, eye, musculoskeletal systems most affected. Seronegative arthritis (OR 9.61) psoriasis (OR 1.48), enthesitis/enthesopathy (OR 12.65), and iridocyclitis (OR 3.77) were highly associated. However, Ankylosing Spondylitis and IBD were not conclusively associated. Overall, classic polygenic humorally-mediated autoimmune diseases such as RA and SLE were not associated with Dupilumab use. Pathway analysis identified several biological pathways potentially involved in Dupilumab-associated ADRs, including the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR; in particular, FGFR2) pathway. miRNAs analysis revealed the potential involvement of hsa-miR-21-5p and hsa-miR-335-5p. In conclusion, IL-4/IL-13 blockers are not unexpectedly protective against humoral autoimmune diseases but dynamically skew immune responses towards some IL-23/IL-17 cytokine pathway-related diseases. A robust signal potentially towards degenerative related pathology in the eye and vasculature due to loss of IL-4/IL-13 tissue reparative homeostatic mechanisms emerged.