miR-146a targets Fos expression in human cardiac cells.

Xavier Palomer, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry, IBUB (Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona), CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of BarcelonaFollow
Eva Capdevila-Busquets, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry, IBUB (Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona), CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona
Gaia Botteri, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry, IBUB (Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona), CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona
Mercy M Davidson, Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia UniversityFollow
Cristina Rodríguez, Centro de Investigación Cardiovascular, CSIC-ICCC, IIB-Sant Pau
José Martínez-González, Centro de Investigación Cardiovascular, CSIC-ICCC, IIB-Sant Pau
Francisco Vidal, Unitat de Diagnòstic i Teràpia Molecular, Banc de Sang i Teixits
Emma Barroso, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry, IBUB (Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona), CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona
Tung O Chan, Department of Medicine, Center for Translational Medicine, Jefferson Medical CollegeFollow
Arthur M Feldman, Departments of Medicine and Physiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Temple University School of MedicineFollow
Manuel Vázquez-Carrera, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutic Chemistry, IBUB (Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona), CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of BarcelonaFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2015

Comments

This article has been peer reviewed. It was published in: DMM Disease Models and Mechanisms.
Volume 8, Issue 9, 1 September 2015, Pages 1081-1091.
The published version is available at DOI: 10.1242/dmm.020768

Copyright © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Abstract

miR-146a is a microRNA whose transcript levels are induced in the heart upon activation of NF-κB, a transcription factor induced by pro-inflammatory molecules (such as TNF-α) that is strongly related to the pathogenesis of cardiac disorders. The main goal of this study consisted of studying new roles of miR-146a in cardiac pathological processes caused by the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. Our results demonstrate that miR-146a transcript levels were sharply increased in cardiac ventricular tissue of transgenic mice with specific overexpression of TNF-α in the heart, and also in a cardiomyocyte cell line of human origin (AC16) exposed to TNF-α. Among all the in silico predicted miR-146a target genes, Fos mRNA and protein levels notably decreased after TNF-α treatment or miR-146a overexpression. These changes correlated with a diminution in the DNA-binding activity of AP-1, the Fos-containing transcription factor complex. Interestingly, AP-1 inhibition was accompanied by a reduction in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 mRNA levels in human cardiac cells. The specific regulation of this MMP by miR-146a was further confirmed at the secretion and enzymatic activity levels, as well as after anti-miR-mediated miR-146a inhibition. The results reported here demonstrate that Fos is a direct target of miR-146a activity and that downregulation of the Fos-AP-1 pathway by miR-146a has the capacity to inhibit MMP-9 activity. Given that MMP-9 is an AP-1 target gene involved in cardiac remodeling, myocardial dysfunction and progression of heart failure, these findings suggest that miR-146a might be a new and promising therapeutic tool for treating cardiac disorders associated with enhanced inflammation in the heart.

PubMed ID

26112171

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