MiR-4632 mediates PDGFBB-induced proliferation and anti-apoptosis of human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells via targeting cJUN
Published online on July 12, 2017
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can regulate proliferative status of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), which is a core factor modulating pulmonary vascular remodeling diseases, such as atherosclerosis and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Our previous work has shown that miR-4632, a rarely reported miRNA, is significantly downregulated in Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF)BB-stimulated human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs), yet its cell function and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, we find that miR-4632 is highly expressed in HPASMCs and its expression significantly decreased in response to different stimuli. Functional studies revealed that miR-4632 inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of HPASMCs, but had no effects on cell contraction and migration. Furthermore, the cJUN was identified as a direct target gene of miR-4632, while knockdown of cJUN was necessary for miR-4632-mediated HPASMCs proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, the downregulation of miR-4632 by PDGFBB was found to associate with histone deacetylation through the activation of PDGFR/PI3K/HDAC4 signaling. Finally, the expression of miR-4632 was reduced in serum of patients with PAH. Overall, our results suggest that miR-4632 plays an important role in regulating HPASMCs proliferation and apoptosis by suppression of cJUN, providing a novel therapeutic miRNA candidate for the treatment of pulmonary vascular remodeling diseases. It also implies that serum miR-4632 has the potential to serve as a circulating biomarker for PAH diagnosis.