microRNA-30e up-regulation alleviates myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and promotes ventricular remodeling via SOX9 repression

AIM

At present, studies have focused on microRNAs (miRNAs) in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MI/RI). But the specific role of miR-30e hasn't been fully explored. Thus, this study is to uncover the mechanism of miR-30e in MI/RI.

METHODS

MI/RI models of rats and hypoxia/reoxygenation injury (H/R) models of H9C2 cardiomyocytes were established. Rats were injected with miR-30e and SRY-related high mobility group-box gene 9 (SOX9)-related oligonucleotides or vectors to explore their roles in MI/RI. H9C2 cardiomyocytes were transfected with restored miR-30e and depleted SOX9 to decipher their function in H/R injury. miR-30e and SOX9 expression in myocardial tissues and cardiomyocytes were detected. Online website prediction and luciferase activity assay were applied to validate the targeting relationship between miR-30e and SOX9.

RESULTS

Decreased miR-30e and increased SOX9 were found in myocardial tissues of MI/RI rats and H/R-treated cardiomyocytes. miR-30e targeted SOX9. miR-30e up-regulation or SOX9 down-regulation reduced cardiac function damage and suppressed oxidative stress, inflammation, cardiomyocyte apoptosis and myocardial enzymes in myocardial tissues of MI/RI rats. Restoring miR-30e or silencing SOX9 energized cell viability and inhibited apoptosis of H/R-treated cardiomyocytes. Down-regulating SOX9 reversed the effects of miR-30e down-regulation on myocardial injury, ventricular remodeling, cardiomyocyte damage and apoptosis in MI/RI.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that miR-30e elevation alleviated cardiac function damage and promoted ventricular remodeling via SOX9 repression.

Loss of microRNA-30e induced by extracellular vesicles from cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes breast cancer progression by binding to CTHRC1

Breast cancer (BC) is a frequently occurring malignancy within female population. Recently, the significance of extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) (CAF-EVs) in malignancies has been increasingly recognized. The study aims to explore the functional mechanism of CAF-EVs in the development of BC. Initially, EVs were isolated from CAF, followed by observation on morphological change using transmission electronic microscope. Next, BC and the adjacent normal tissues were collected for quantification of microRNA (miR)-30e and collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1) using RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis. miR-30e was downregulated in BC, while CTHRC1 was upregulated. Luciferase assay revealed that miR-30e targeted CTHRC1. miR-30e and CTHRC1 expression was altered to evaluate their effects on BC cell viabilities in vitro. It was shown that overexpression of miR-30e or silencing of CTHRC1 suppressed proliferation, migration/invasion of BC cells but promoted apoptosis. Xenograft tumors were developed in mice to observe the tumorigenesis. To sum up, CAF-EVs reduced miR-30e expression to upregulate CTHRC1, which aggravated BC in vitro and in vivo.

SOX2-Upregulated microRNA-30e Promotes the Progression of Esophageal Cancer via Regulation of the USP4/SMAD4/CK2 Axis

Esophageal cancer (EC) is a highly aggressive disease, and its progression involves a complex gene regulation network. Transcription factor SOX2 is amplified in various cancers including EC. A pathway involving SOX2 regulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target genes has been previously revealed. This study aims to delineate the ability of SOX2 to influence the EC progression, with the involvement of miR-30e/USP4/SMAD4/CK2 axis. SOX2 expression was first examined in the clinical tissue samples from 30 EC patients. Effects of SOX2 on proliferation, migration, and invasion alongside tumorigenicity of transfected cells were examined by means of gain- and loss-of-function experiments. EC tissues and cells exhibited high expression of SOX2, miR-30e, and CK2 and poor expression of USP4 and SMAD4. Mechanistically, SOX2 was positively correlated with miR-30e and upregulated the expression of miR-30e. miR-30e specifically targeted USP4, which induced deubiquitination of SMAD4 and promoted its expression. Meanwhile, SMAD4 was enriched in the CK2 promoter region and thus inhibited its expression. SOX2 stimulated EC cell proliferative, invasive, and migratory capacities in vitro and tumor growth in vivo by regulating the miR-30e/USP4/SMAD4/CK2 axis. Collectively, our work reveals a novel SOX2-mediated regulatory network in EC that may be a viable target for EC treatment.

Long non-coding RNA B4GALT1-Antisense RNA 1/microRNA-30e/SRY-box transcription factor 9 signaling axis contributes to non-small cell lung cancer cell growth

Long non-coding (lnc) RNAs serve crucial functions in human cancers. However, the involvement of the lncRNA B4GALT1-antisense RNA 1 (AS1) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been extensively studied. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was performed to detect B4GALT1-AS1 levels in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Potential influences of B4GALT1-AS1 on biological functions of NSCLC were assessed through a series of in vitro experiments, and the molecular mechanism was determined via RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and bioinformatics analyses. The results of the present study demonstrated that knockdown of B4GALT1-AS1 significantly attenuated the proliferative ability and clonality of H1299 and A549 cells. In the present study, B4GALT1-AS1 competed as an endogenous RNA by sequestering microRNA-30e (miR-30e) leading to an enhanced expression of SRY-box transcription factor 9 (SOX9). The effects of silencing B4GALT1-AS1 on NSCLC cells proliferation could be ameliorated by inhibiting miR-30e or restoring SOX9. Hence, B4GALT1-AS1 acted as a lncRNA that drives tumor progression in NSCLC via the regulation of the miR-30e/SOX9 axis. The findings of the present study indicated that the B4GALT1-AS1/miR-30e/SOX9 axis maybe an effective target for NSCLC treatment and management.

miR-30e-5p Mitigates Hypoxia-Induced Apoptosis in Human Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes by Suppressing Bim

Coronary microembolization can cause slow or no reflow, which is one of the crucial reasons for reverse of clinical advantage from cardiac reperfusion therapy. miRNAs and apoptosis are dramatically involved in the occurrence and process of cardiovascular diseases. Fortunately, human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) have emerged as an appealing model for the evaluation of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, our study was designed to explore the role of miR-30e-5p and apoptosis in a hypoxia-induced hiPSC-CM injury model. Our results showed that the expression levels of miR-30e-5p were overtly downregulated in a time-dependent manner under hypoxic conditions. Expression of miR-30e-5p was significantly downregulated after 24 hours of hypoxia, hypoxia treatment dramatically induced apoptosis. Calcium handling capability significantly decreased after 24 hours of hypoxia treatment. miR-30e-5p overexpression partially mitigated hypoxia-induced apoptosis and rescued hypoxia-induced calcium handling defects in hiPSC-CMs. The luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-30e-5p can directly target the 3'-UTR of Bim, which is an apoptosis activator and autophagy suppressor. The mRNA and protein of Bim remarkably increased after hypoxia treatment and reduced with miR-30e-5p overexpression. Moreover, downregulation of Bim mitigated hypoxia-induced apoptosis and activated autophagy. These results demonstrated that miR-30e-5p mitigated hypoxia-induced apoptosis in hiPSC-CMs at least in part via Bim suppression and subsequent autophagy activation. Our study suggested miR-30e-5p may act as a potential therapeutic target for coronary microembolization.

MicroRNA-30e inhibits adhesion, migration, invasion and cell cycle progression of prostate cancer cells via inhibition of the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway by downregulating CHRM3

Prostate cancer (PCa) testing is currently based on measurement of serum prostate‑specific antigen levels and digital rectal examination, which are limited by a low predictive value and the adverse effects associated with overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Recent studies have reported that the abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is associated with the mechanism underlying the development of PCa. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of miR‑30e and its target gene, M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (CHRM3), on the adhesion, migration, invasion and cell cycle distribution of PCa cells via the mitogen‑activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. The differentially expressed genes were screened in the Gene Expression Omnibus database from a gene expression microarray (GSE55945) of PCa. PCa tissues and adjacent tissues were collected from patients with PCa. The PC‑3 and DU145 human PCa cell lines were treated with activator, inhibitor and siRNAs. The effects of miR‑30e on cell adhesion, migration, invasion and cell cycle distribution with the involvement of CHRM3 and the MAPK signaling pathway were investigated. The bioinformatics results demonstrated that the CHRM3 gene and the MAKP signaling pathway were involved in the progression of PCa, and has‑miR‑30e was selected for further study. The levels of miR‑30e were significantly downregulated, while the levels of CHRM3 were obviously upregulated in PCa. CHRM3 was verified as a target gene of miR‑30e. Upregulation of miR‑30e and downregulation of CHRM3 decreased the levels of p‑P38, p‑extracellular signal‑regulated kinase, p‑c‑Jun N‑terminal kinase, p‑c‑fos and p‑c‑JUN, cell adhesion, migration and invasion ability, and the number of cells in the S phase, while they increased the number of cells in the G0 and G1 phases. The findings of the present study suggest that miR‑30e inhibited the adhesion, migration, invasion and cell cycle entry of PCa cells by suppressing the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway and inhibiting CHRM3 expression. Thus, miR‑30e may serve as a candidate target for the treatment of PCa.

miR-30e controls DNA damage-induced stress responses by modulating expression of the CDK inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 and caspase-3

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs that usually cause gene silencing by translational repression or degradation of mRNAs, are implicated in DNA damage-induced stress responses. To identify senescence-associated miRNAs, we performed microarray analyses using wild-type and p53-deficient HCT116 colon carcinoma cells that following gamma-irradiation (γIR) are driven into senescence and apoptosis, respectively. Several miRNAs including miR-30e were found upregulated in a p53-dependent manner specifically in senescent cells, but not in apoptotic cells. Overexpression of miR-30e in HCT116 cells not only inhibited γIR-, etoposide- or miR-34a-induced caspase-3-like DEVDase activities and cell death, but greatly accelerated and augmented their senescent phenotype. Consistently, procaspase-3 protein, but not mRNA decreased in the presence of miR-30e, whereas expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 increased both at the mRNA and protein level. Performing luciferase reporter gene assays, we identified the 3′-UTR of the caspase-3 mRNA as a direct miR-30e target. In contrast, although miR-30e was unable to bind to the p21 mRNA, it increased expression of a luciferase construct containing the p21 promoter, suggesting that the miR-30e-mediated upregulation of p21 occurs indirectly at the transcriptional level. Interestingly, despite suppressing procaspase-3 expression, miR-30e was unable to protect RKO colon carcinoma cells from DNA damage-induced death or to induce senescence, as miR-30e completely fails to upregulate p21 in these cells. These data suggest that miR-30e functions in a cell type-dependent manner as an important molecular switch for DNA damage-induced stress responses and may thus represent a target of therapeutic value.