Overexpression of microRNA-136-3p Alleviates Myocardial Injury in Coronary Artery Disease via the Rho A/ROCK Signaling Pathway

New insights into the potential effects of PET microplastics on organisms via extracellular vesicle-mediated communication

Plastics have become an integral part of our daily lives. In the environment, plastics break down into small pieces (<5 mm) that are referred to as microplastics. Microplastics are ubiquitous and widespread in the environment, and all living organisms are exposed to their effects. The present study provides new insights into the potential effects of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics on organisms via extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated communication. The study demonstrated that serum-derived EVs are able to transport plastic particles. In addition, PET microplastics alter the content of miRNA in EVs. The identified differentially regulated miRNAs may target genes associated with lifestyle diseases, such as cardiovascular or metabolic diseases, and carcinogenesis. This work expands our understanding of PET microplastics' effects on organisms via EV-mediated communication and identifies directions for further research and strategies.

Potential roles of microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs as diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers in coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD), which is mainly caused by atherosclerotic processes in coronary arteries, became a significant health issue. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), have been shown to be stable in plasma and could thereby be adopted as biomarkers for CAD diagnosis and treatment. MiRNAs can regulate CAD development through different pathways and mechanisms, including modulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) activity, inflammatory responses, myocardial injury, angiogenesis, and leukocyte adhesion. Similarly, previously studies have indicated that the causal effects of lncRNAs in CAD pathogenesis and their utility in CAD diagnosis and treatment, has been found to lead to cell cycle transition, proliferation dysregulation, and migration in favour of CAD development. Differential expression of miRNAs and lncRNAs in CAD patients has been identified and served as diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers for the assessment of CAD patients. Thus, in the current review, we summarize the functions of miRNAs and lncRNAs, which aimed to identify novel targets for the CAD diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.

MiRNA-Seq reveals key MicroRNAs involved in fat metabolism of sheep liver

There is a genetic difference between Hu sheep (short/fat-tailed sheep) and Tibetan sheep (short/thin-tailed sheep) in tail type, because of fat metabolism. Previous studies have mainly focused directly on sheep tail fat, which is not the main organ of fat metabolism. The function of miRNAs in sheep liver fat metabolism has not been thoroughly elucidated. In this study, miRNA-Seq was used to identify miRNAs in the liver tissue of three Hu sheep (short/fat-tailed sheep) and three Tibetan sheep (short/thin-tailed sheep) to characterize the differences in fat metabolism of sheep. In our study, Hu sheep was in a control group, we identified 11 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs), including six up-regulated miRNAs and five down-regulated miRNAs. Miranda and RNAhybrid were used to predict the target genes of DE miRNAs, obtaining 3,404 target genes. A total of 115 and 67 GO terms as well as 54 and 5 KEGG pathways were significantly (padj &lt; 0.05) enriched for predicted 3,109 target genes of up-regulated and 295 target genes of down-regulated miRNAs, respectively. oar-miR-432 was one of the most up-regulated miRNAs between Hu sheep and Tibetan sheep. And SIRT1 is one of the potential target genes of oar-miR-432. Furthermore, functional validation using the dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that the up-regulated miRNA; oar-miR-432 potentially targeted sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) expression. Then, the oar-miR-432 mimic transfected into preadipocytes resulted in inhibited expression of SIRT1. This is the first time reported that the expression of SIRT1 gene was regulated by oar-miR-432 in fat metabolism of sheep liver. These results could provide a meaningful theoretical basis for studying the fat metabolism of sheep.

MicroRNA Alterations Induced in Human Skin by Diesel Fumes, Ozone, and UV Radiation

Epigenetic alterations are a driving force of the carcinogenesis process. MicroRNAs play a role in silencing mutated oncogenes, thus defending the cell against the adverse consequences of genotoxic damages induced by environmental pollutants. These processes have been well investigated in lungs; however, although skin is directly exposed to a great variety of environmental pollutants, more research is needed to better understand the effect on cutaneous tissue. Therefore, we investigated microRNA alteration in human skin biopsies exposed to diesel fumes, ozone, and UV light for over 24 h of exposure. UV and ozone-induced microRNA alteration right after exposure, while the peak of their deregulations induced by diesel fumes was reached only at the end of the 24 h. Diesel fumes mainly altered microRNAs involved in the carcinogenesis process, ozone in apoptosis, and UV in DNA repair. Accordingly, each tested pollutant induced a specific pattern of microRNA alteration in skin related to the intrinsic mechanisms activated by the specific pollutant. These alterations, over a short time basis, reflect adaptive events aimed at defending the tissue against damages. Conversely, whenever environmental exposure lasts for a long time, the irreversible alteration of the microRNA machinery results in epigenetic damage contributing to the pathogenesis of inflammation, dysplasia, and cancer induced by environmental pollutants.

MicroRNA-136-5p protects cardiomyocytes from coronary microembolization through the inhibition of pyroptosis

This study investigated how miR-136-5p partially affected cardiomyocyte pyroptosis in rats with coronary microembolization (CME). The cardiac function and structure of rats with CME were evaluated using echocardiography, hematoxylin and eosin staining, Masson staining, and troponin I level. Pyroptosis was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in isolated rat cardiomyocytes and evaluated by the expression of caspase-1, NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3, interleukin-1β, and gasdermin D-N. After cell transfection, the expression of Ataxin-1 like (ATXN1L), pyrin domain-containing 1 (PYDC1), and pyroptosis-related proteins was assessed. Dual-luciferase reporter and immunoprecipitation assays were used to verify the relationships among miR-136-5p, ATXN1L, and capicua (CIC). MiR-136-5p was under-expressed, whereas ATXN1L was overexpressed in rats with CME and in LPS-treated primary cardiomyocytes. MiR-136-5p targeted ATXN1L, and ATXN1L bound to CIC to suppress PYDC1 expression. MiR-136-5p overexpression suppressed pyroptosis by inhibiting the binding of ATXN1L with CIC and promoting PYDC1 expression, which was reversed by simultaneous elevation of ATXN1L. In conclusion, miR-136-5p suppressed pyroptosis by upregulating PYDC1 via ATXN1L/CIC axis, thereby attenuating cardiac damage caused by CME.

The Therapeutic Role of Slit2 in Anti-fibrosis, Anti-inflammation and Anti-oxidative Stress in Rats with Coronary Heart Disease

To investigate the efficacy of Slit2 in the rats with coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD model were constructed by feeding high-fat food and injecting with pituitrin in rat, followed by recombinant Slit2 treatment, and then the cardiac function was evaluated by echocardiography, and the indicators concerning the cardiomyocyte injury markers and lipoprotein status and oxidative stress were measured. The Slit2 expression in the heart tissues was identified by immunofluorescence. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to detect inflammatory cytokines, H2DCFDA staining to determine the ROS generation in heart tissues, Masson trichrome staining to observe myocardial fibrosis, and qRT-PCR and Western blotting to detect gene and protein expressions. Slit2 decreased the levels of LDH, CK-MB, cTnI, TG, TC and LDL-C and increased HDL-C level in CHD rats. In the normal heart tissues, Slit2 expression was significantly lower in cardiomyocytes than cardiac fibroblasts. Furthermore, the expressions of VCAM-1, ICAM-1, fibronectin and TGF-β1 were increased in the heart tissues of CHD rats with the obvious myocardial fibrosis, which were dose-dependently reversed by recombinant Slit2. In addition, recombinant Slit2 also dose-dependently increased the activity of NO, SOD, CAT and GSH-Px, and decreased TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, MDA and ROS in CHD rats. Slit2 was downregulated in myocardial tissue and plasma of CHD rats. Recombinant Slit2, by regulating the level of blood lipid, can relieve the myocardial fibrosis, inflammation and oxidative stress in CHD.

Role of MicroRNAs in the Pathogenesis of Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the main reason of cardiovascular mortalities worldwide. This condition is resulted from atherosclerotic occlusion of coronary arteries. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in the regulation of proliferation and apoptosis of endothelial cells, induction of immune responses and different stages of plaque formation. Up-regulation of miR-92a-3p, miR-206, miR-216a, miR-574-5p, miR-23a, miR-499, miR-451, miR-21, miR-146a, and a number of other miRNAs has been reported in CAD patients. In contrast, miR-20, miR-107, miR-330, miR-383-3p, miR-939, miR-4306, miR-181a-5p, miR-218, miR-376a-3p, and miR-3614 are among down-regulated miRNAs in CAD. Differential expression of miRNAs in CAD patients has been exploited to design diagnostic or prognostic panels for evaluation of CAD patients. We appraise the recent knowledge about the role of miRNAs in the development of diverse clinical subtypes of CAD.

Plasma miR-9-3p and miR-136-3p as Potential Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers for Experimental and Human Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Noninvasive, affordable circulating biomarkers for difficult-to-diagnose mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are an unmet medical need. Although blood microRNA (miRNA) levels are reportedly altered after traumatic brain injury (TBI), their diagnostic potential for mTBI remains inconclusive. We hypothesized that acutely altered plasma miRNAs could serve as diagnostic biomarkers both in the lateral fluid percussion injury (FPI) model and clinical mTBI. We performed plasma small RNA-sequencing from adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 31) at 2 days post-TBI, followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based validation of selected candidates. miR-9a-3p, miR-136-3p, and miR-434-3p were identified as the most promising candidates at 2 days after lateral FPI. Digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) revealed 4.2-, 2.8-, and 4.6-fold elevations in miR-9a-3p, miR-136-3p, and miR-434-3p levels (p < 0.01 for all), respectively, distinguishing rats with mTBI from naïve rats with 100% sensitivity and specificity. DdPCR further identified a subpopulation of mTBI patients with plasma miR-9-3p (n = 7/15) and miR-136-3p (n = 5/15) levels higher than one standard deviation above the control mean at <2 days postinjury. In sTBI patients, plasma miR-9-3p levels were 6.5- and 9.2-fold in comparison to the mTBI and control groups, respectively. Thus, plasma miR-9-3p and miR-136-3p were identified as promising biomarker candidates for mTBI requiring further evaluation in a larger patient population.

Oxidative Stress in Ischemic Heart Disease

One of the novel interesting topics in the study of cardiovascular disease is the role of the oxidation system, since inflammation and oxidative stress are known to lead to cardiovascular diseases, their progression and complications. During decades of research, many complex interactions between agents of oxidative stress, oxidation, and antioxidant systems have been elucidated, and numerous important pathophysiological links to na number of disorders and diseases have been established. This review article will present the most relevant knowledge linking oxidative stress to vascular dysfunction and disease. The review will focus on the role of oxidative stress in endotheleial dysfunction, atherosclerosis, and other pathogenetic processes and mechanisms that contribute to the development of ischemic heart disease.