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A critical role of microRNAs in human pulmonary arterial hypertension. miR-204: a novel therapeutic target (gene expression)

ABSTRACT: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a vascular remodeling disease characterized by enhanced pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation and suppressed apoptosis. Downregulation of the BMPR2 gene along with activation of the transcription factor NFAT have been implicated in the maintenance of pro-proliferative and anti-apoptotic stages of cells. Since an increasing number of microRNAs have been implicated in the regulation of genes specifically important for cell proliferation and apoptosis, we hypothesized that microRNAs might be associated with these cellular features in the etiology of PAH. We demonstrate that downregulation of one such microRNA (miR-204) in human PAH-PASMC promotes the activation of an Src/STAT3/NFAT axis that increases PAH-PASMC proliferation and their resistance to apoptosis. Stimulation experiments using the pro-PAH factors (PDGF, endothelin-1 and angiotensin II) and time course analysis in experimental PAH show that STAT3 activation leads to miR-204 downregulation, thereby activating an Src-dependent positive feedback loop sustaining STAT3 and activating NFAT. More importantly, restoring miR-204 expression decreases proliferation and resistance to apoptosis in human and in an experimental PAH model. Taken together, our study uncovers a new STAT3-miR-204-Src/STAT3/NFAT axis that links the STAT3-dependent downregulation of BMPR2 with the NFAT-mediated pro-proliferative and anti-apoptotic phenotype observed in PAH. Our data point toward a novel potential strategy for treating patients with PAH.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE21280 | GEO | 2010/12/16

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA129437

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:NFU1 is an iron-sulfur (Fe-S) scaffold protein, involved in Fe-S assembly and transfer to a range of mitochondrial metalloproteins. Patients with the NFU1G208C mutation develop pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with 70% penetrance. Rats with NFU1G206C homozygous mutation demonstrated the PAH phenotype showing increased pulmonary vasculature remodeling, right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy, and RV pressure. In the present study, we discovered phenotypic metabolic changes in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMC) from NFU1G206C homozygous mutant rats associated with alterations in the mitochondrial proteome. Quantitative analysis of the mitochondrial proteome showed significant changes in the abundance of 208 proteins involved in various metabolic and antioxidant functions in response to the NFU1 mutation. Our data indicates that the NFU1G206C homozygous mutant rats have decreased expression of complex I and II, which are known to depend on iron-sulfur clusters, and increased expression of complexes III to V, accompanied with a significant decrease in mitochondrial function, pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity and amplified glycolysis and anabolism in PASMC. The NFU1 mutation produced a dysregulated antioxidant system in the mitochondria which leads to increased levels of reactive oxygen species. Due to alterations in apoptosis regulating proteins, the NFU1G206C cells were found to exhibit high proliferation rates and resistance to apoptosis as compared with the wild type (WT). Finally, the NFU1G206C mitochondrial proteome showed significant abundance changes in proteins that regulate fatty acid (FA) metabolism and exhibited increased FA oxidation compared to WT, suggesting increased FA oxidation compensates for the decreased PDH activity. In conclusion, our data indicates that the NFU1G206C mutation induces a metabolic shift in the PASMC, which results in a hyper-proliferative and apoptosis resistant phenotype and presents a novel cellular model to study PAH.

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A critical role of microRNAs in human pulmonary arterial hypertension. miR-204: a novel therapeutic target (gene expression)

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