MicroRNA-145-5p inhibits hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cardiomyocytes by targeting ROCK1

Hypoxia-induced circRNAs encoded by PPARA are highly expressed in human cardiomyocytes and are potential clinical biomarkers of acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a serious cardiovascular disease that adversely affects human health. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in the pathological and physiological processes of AMI, but the biological mechanism of their involvement and their clinical significance remain unknown. We aimed to identify circRNAs that are significantly associated with morbidity in the peripheral blood of patients with AMI and evaluate their diagnostic utility.

METHODS

High-throughput sequencing was used to screen for differentially expressed circRNAs in peripheral blood samples obtained from five patients with AMI and five sex- and age-matched healthy controls. A series of bioinformatics tools and databases were used to determine the biological functional classification and pathway enrichment of the circRNAs based on data obtained from sequencing. A hypoxia model was established and used to evaluate the effect of hypoxia on circRNA expression in human cardiomyocytes. A cytoplasmic separation assay and enzyme resistance assay were employed to identify the biological characteristics of circRNA. Polymerase chain reaction validity testing and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to evaluate the utility of circRNA assessments in the diagnosis of AMI.

RESULTS

A large number of circRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in the peripheral blood of patients with AMI, and significantly more of these circRNAs were highly expressed than lowly expressed. The genes encoding these circRNAs have a wide range of effects on various functions in the body. A hypoxic environment promoted the upregulation of circRNA expression in human cardiomyocytes, and hsa_circ_0116795 encoded by PPARA was highly expressed in the peripheral blood of the patients with AMI. In terms of biological characteristics, under physiological conditions, hsa_circ_0116795 (circ_PPARA) was mainly located in the cytoplasm of cardiomyocytes and found to be resistant to exonuclease. The ROC curve analysis showed that the expression levels of circ_PPARA in the peripheral blood of patients with AMI were significantly different from those in the peripheral blood of healthy controls.

CONCLUSION

A large number of abnormally expressed circRNAs are detectable in the peripheral blood of patients with AMI. In particular, circ_PPARA is highly expressed in human myocardial cells under hypoxic conditions, and its biological characteristics indicate that it could be employed as a biomarker for the early diagnosis of AMI.

Potential Roles of microRNAs for Assessing Cardiovascular Risk in Pre-Eclampsia-Exposed Postpartum Women and Offspring

Pre-eclampsia, which is part of the spectrum of hypertensive pregnancy disorders, poses a significant health burden, contributing to maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. Pre-eclampsia is widely associated with persistent adverse effects on the cardiovascular health of women with a history of pre-eclampsia. Additionally, there is increasing evidence demonstrating that offspring of pre-eclamptic pregnancies have altered cardiac structure and function, as well as different vascular physiology due to the decrease in endothelial function. Therefore, early detection of the likelihood of developing pre-eclampsia-associated cardiovascular diseases is vital, as this could facilitate the undertaking of the necessary clinical measures to avoid disease progression. The utilisation of microRNAs as biomarkers is currently on the rise as microRNAs have been found to play important roles in regulating various physiological and pathophysiological processes. In regard to pre-eclampsia, recent studies have shown that the expression of microRNAs is altered in postpartum women and their offspring who have been exposed to pre-eclampsia, and that these alterations may persist for several years. This review, therefore, addresses changes in microRNA expression found in postpartum women and offspring exposed to pre-eclampsia, their involvement in cardiovascular disease, and the potential role of microRNAs to be used as predictive tools and therapeutic targets in future cardiovascular disease research.

Plasma exosomal microRNAs are non-invasive biomarkers of moyamoya disease: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

As a progressive cerebrovascular disease, Moyamoya Disease (MMD) is a common cause of stroke in children and adults. However, the early biomarkers and pathogenesis of MMD remain poorly understood.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

This study was conducted using plasma exosome samples from MMD patients. Next-generation high-throughput sequencing, real-time quantitative PCR, gene ontology analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis of ideal exosomal miRNAs that could be used as potential biomarkers of MMD were performed. The area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of biomarkers for predicting events.

RESULTS

Exosomes were successfully isolated and miRNA-sequence analysis yielded 1,002 differentially expressed miRNAs. Functional analysis revealed that they were mainly enriched in axon guidance, regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and the MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, 10 miRNAs (miR-1306-5p, miR-196b-5p, miR-19a-3p, miR-22-3p, miR-320b, miR-34a-5p, miR-485-3p, miR-489-3p, miR-501-3p, and miR-487-3p) were found to be associated with the most sensitive and specific pathways for MMD prediction.

CONCLUSIONS

Several plasma secretory miRNAs closely related to the development of MMD have been identified, which can be used as biomarkers of MMD and contribute to differentiating MMD from non-MMD patients before digital subtraction angiography.

Exosomal miR‑152‑5p/ARHGAP6/ROCK axis regulates apoptosis and fibrosis in cardiomyocytes

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a fatal cardiovascular disease with a high mortality rate. The discovery of effective biomarkers is crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of AMI. In the present study, miRNA sequencing and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction techniques revealed that the expression of exosome derived miR-152-5p was significantly downregulated in patients with AMI compared with healthy controls. A series of functional validation experiments were then performed using H9c2 cardiomyocytes. Following transfection of the cardiomyocytes using an miR-152-5p inhibitor, immunofluorescence staining of a-smooth muscle actin revealed a marked increase in fibrosis. Western blotting revealed that the expression levels of the apoptotic protein Bax, TNF-α and collagen-associated proteins were significantly increased, whereas those of the apoptosis-inhibiting factor Bcl-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor A were significantly decreased. Furthermore, the binding of Rho GTPase-activating protein 6 (ARHGAP6) to miR-152-5p was predicted using an online database and verified using a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. The transfection of cardiomyocytes with miR-152-5p mimics was found to inhibit the activation of ARHGAP6 and Rho-associated coiled-coil containing kinase 2 (ROCK2). These results suggest that miR-152-5p targets ARHGAP6 through the ROCK signaling pathway to inhibit AMI, which implies that miR-152-5p may be a diagnostic indicator and potential target for treatment of myocardial infarction.

Sufentanil promotes autophagy and improves ischemiareperfusioninduced acute kidney injury via upregulating microRNA145

OBJECTIVES

Sufentanil has a good protective effect on myocardial and liver injury caused by ischemia reperfusion (IR), but its protective effect on kidney is still unclear. This study aims to investigate whether sufentanil can prevent IR-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and to determine whether its efficacy is related to miR-145-mediated autophagy.

METHODS

A total of 40 rats were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=8 in each group): A sham group, an IR group, a sufentanil group, a sufentanil+miR-145 inhibitor control group (an anti-NC group) and a sufentanil+miR-145 inhibitor group (an anti-miR-145 group). Except for the sham group, the other groups established a rat AKI model induced by IR. The sufentanil group, the sufentanil+anti-NC group, and the sufentanil+anti-miR-145 were injected with sufentanil (1 μg/kg) through femoral vein 30 min before ischemia. The sufentanil+anti-NC group and the sufentanil+anti-miR-145 group were injected with miR-145 inhibitor control or anti-miR-145 (80 mg/kg) through the tail vein before sufentanil pretreatment. The structure and function of kidneys harvested from the rats were evaluated, and the protein levels of autophagy-related proteins, oxidative stress levels, and apoptosis levels were measured.

RESULTS

Compared with the IR group, the renal structure and function were improved in the sufentanil group. The levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), urinary kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), neutrophil gelatinase related lipid transporter (NGAL), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and ROS were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). In addition, compared with the IR group, the levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 in renal tissues in the sufentanil group were significantly increased (both P<0.05), and the apoptosis in renal tissues was significantly reduced (P<0.05). Compared with the sufentanil+anti-NC group, the levels of BUN, Cr, KIM-1, NGAL, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and ROS in the sufentanil+anti-miR-145 group were significantly increased (all P<0.05), the levels of Beclin-1 and LC3 in renal tissues were significantly decreased (both P<0.05), and the apoptosis in renal tissues was significantly increased (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Sufentanil can prevent the AKI induced by IR, which is related to the up-regulation of miR-145-mediated autophagy.

Angiotensin receptor/Neprilysin inhibitor effects in CRTd non-responders: From epigenetic to clinical beside

OBJECTIVES

We evaluated whether Angiotensin receptor/Neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI) reduce heart failure (HF) hospitalizations and deaths in cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRTd) non-responders patients at 12 months of follow-up, modulating microRNAs (miRs) implied in adverse cardiac remodeling.

BACKGROUND

adverse cardiac remodeling characterized by left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) reduction, left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESv) increase, and the 6-minute walking test (6MWT) reduction are relevant pathological mechanisms in CRTd non-responders and could be linked to changes in miRNAs (miRs), regulating cardiac fibrosis, apoptosis, and hypertrophy.

METHODS

miRs levels and clinical outcomes (LVEF, cardiac deaths, and 6MWT) were evaluated at baseline and one year of follow-up in CRTd non-responders divided into ARNI-users and Non-ARNI users.

RESULTS

At baseline, there were no differences in levels of inflammatory markers, miR-18, miR-145, and miR-181 (p > 0.05) between Non-ARNI users (n 106) and ARNI-users (n 312). At one year of follow-up, ARNI-users vs. Non-ARNI users showed lowest inflammatory markers (p < 0.01) and miR-181 levels (p < 0.01) and higher values of miR-18 (p < 0.01)and miR-145 (p < 0.01). At one year of follow-up, ARNI-users had a higher increase of LVEF (p < 0.01) and 6MWT (p < 0.01) along with a more significant reduction of LVESv (p < 0.01) compared to Non-ARNI users. Cox regression analysis evidenced that ARNI-based therapies increase the probability of anti-remodeling effects of CRTd. Based on symptomatic improvements, echocardiographic and functional classification improvements, 37 (34.9%) patients among ARNI-users became responders, while only twenty (6.4%) patients became responders among Non-ARNi-users.

CONCLUSIONS

ARNI might influence epigenetic mechanisms modulating miRs implicated in the adverse cardiac remodeling responses to CRTd.

Argon inhibits reactive oxygen species oxidative stress via the miR-21-mediated PDCD4/PTEN pathway to prevent myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury

The objective of this study was to explore the effect of argon preconditioning on myocardial ischemia reperfusion (MI/R) injury and its mechanism. Cardiomyocytes H2C9 were pre-treated with 50% argon, and a cell model of oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) was established. CCK-8 and cytotoxicity detection kits were used to detect cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. The miR-21 expression was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression of programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4) and homologous phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) proteins. The levels of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) and oxidative stress factors (reactive oxygen species ROS], malondialdehyde [MDA], and superoxide dismutase [SOD]) were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The effect of argon on cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry. Argon increased the proliferation of cardiomyocytes induced by OGD, decreased the release of LDH in cell culture medium, increased miR-21 expression in cells, decreased the expression of miR-21 target proteins PDCD4 and PTEN, decreased the levels of inflammatory factors (interleukin-1β [IL-1β], interleukin-6 [IL-6], and interleukin-8 [IL-8]) and oxidative stress factors (ROS and MDA), increased the SOD content, and decreased the cell apoptosis rate. Our results suggest that argon preconditioning inhibited the PDCD4/PTEN pathway via miR-21, thereby inhibiting ROS oxidative stress and preventing MI/R injury.