Deregulated Cardiac Specific MicroRNAs in Postnatal Heart Growth

A20 (TNFAIP3) alleviates viral myocarditis through ADAR1/miR-1a-3p-dependent regulation

Objective

To investigate the effect of A20 and how A20 is regulated in viral myocarditis (VMC).

Methods

BABL/C mice, primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and H9c2 cells were infected with Coxsackie virus B3 (CVB3) to establish animal and cellular models of VMC. H&E staining revealed the pathologic condition of myocardium. ELISA measured the serum levels of creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme and cardiac troponin I. The effects of A20, miR-1a-3p and ADAR1 were investigated using gain and loss of function approaches. ELISA measured the levels of IL-6, IL-18 and TNF-α in serum or cell culture supernatant. TUNEL staining and flow cytometry assessed the apoptosis of myocardium and cardiomyocytes, respectively. RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase reporter assays verified the binding between A20 and miR-1a-3p. Co-immunoprecipitation assay verified the binding between ADAR1 and Dicer.

Results

A20 was underexpressed and miR-1a-3p was overexpressed in the myocardium of VMC mice as well as in CVB3-infected cardiomyocytes. Overexpression of A20 suppressed cardiomyocyte inflammation and apoptosis in vivo and in vitro. miR-1a-3p promoted CVB3-induced inflammation and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes by binding to A20. The expression of miR-1a-3p was regulated by ADAR1. ADAR1 promoted the slicing of miR-1a-3p precursor by binding to Dicer.

Conclusion

A20, regulated by ADAR1/miR-1a-3p, suppresses inflammation and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in VMC.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-021-02438-z.

Emerging roles of microRNA-208a in cardiology and reverse cardio-oncology

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and cancer, which are the leading causes of mortality globally, have been viewed as two distinct diseases. However, the fact that cancer and CVDs may coincide has been noted by cardiologists when taking care of patients with CVDs caused by cancer chemotherapy; this entity is designated cardio-oncology. More recently, patients with CVDs have also been found to have increased risk of cancers, termed reverse cardio-oncology. Although reverse cardio-oncology has been highlighted as an important disease state in recent studies, how the diseased heart affects cancer and the potential mediators of the crosstalk between CVDs and cancer are largely unknown. Here, we focus on the roles of cardiac-specific microRNA-208a (miR-208a) in cardiac and cancer biology and explore its essential roles in reverse cardio-oncology. Accumulating evidence has shown that within the heart, increased miR-208a promotes myocardial injury, arrhythmia, cardiac remodeling, and dysfunction and that secreted miR-208a in the circulation may have novel roles in promoting tumor proliferation and invasion. This review, therefore, provides insights into the novel roles of miR-208a in reverse cardio-oncology and strategies to prevent secondary carcinogenesis in patients with early- or late-stage heart failure.

Cardioinformatics: the nexus of bioinformatics and precision cardiology

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, causing over 17 million deaths per year, which outpaces global cancer mortality rates. Despite these sobering statistics, most bioinformatics and computational biology research and funding to date has been concentrated predominantly on cancer research, with a relatively modest footprint in CVD. In this paper, we review the existing literary landscape and critically assess the unmet need to further develop an emerging field at the multidisciplinary interface of bioinformatics and precision cardiovascular medicine, which we refer to as 'cardioinformatics'.

miRNAS in cardiovascular diseases: potential biomarkers, therapeutic targets and challenges

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Although considerable progress has been made in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of CVD, there is still a critical need for novel diagnostic biomarkers and new therapeutic interventions to decrease the incidence of this disease. Recently, there is increasing evidence that circulating miRNAs (miRNAs), i.e. endogenous, stable, single-stranded, short, non-coding RNAs, can be used as diagnostic biomarkers for CVD. Furthermore, miRNAs represent potential novel therapeutic targets for several cardiovascular disorders. In this review we provides an overview of the effects of several CVD; including heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, arrhythmias and pulmonary hypertension; on levels of circulating miRNAs. In addition, the use of miRNA as therapeutic targets is also discussed, as well as challenges and recommendations in their use in the diagnosis of CVD.