Overexpression of miR-383-3p protects cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury via regulating PTEN/PI3K/AKT signal pathway.

MicroRNAs are widely reported as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed to expound on the regulatory responsibility of miR-383-3p in H/R-induced injury of H9c2 cells. In this study, H9c2 cells were administrated with H/R. MiR-383-3p expression was measured using qRT-PCR. ELISA was used to determine lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected with 2,7-Dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate probe. 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di- phenytetrazoliumromide, flow cytometry, and TUNEL experiments were conducted to measure cell viability and apoptosis. Cleaved caspase-3, caspase-3, Bax, Bcl-2, PTEN, PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt, p-AKT expression levels were examined by Western blot. Cleaved caspase-3 expression was also measured by immunofluorescence staining. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was applied to validate the binding sites in miR-383-3p and the 3'UTR of PTEN. We reported that, miR-383-3p expression in H9c2 cells treated with H/R was remarkably decreased. MiR-383-3p overexpression ameliorated oxidative stress and apoptosis and promoted cell viability in H9c2 cells treated with H/R, while miR-383-3p inhibitor showed the reverse effects. PTEN was identified as a target gene of miR-383-3p. Additionally, enhancement of PTEN expression abolished the influences of miR-383-3p on H9c2 cells. MiR-383-3p mimics could significantly decrease PTEN expression in H9c2 cells while increasing p-PI3K expression and p-AKT expression, while the miR-383-3p inhibitors showed the opposed effects. In conclusion, miR-383-3p protected H9c2 cells from H/R-induced injury via regulating PTEN/PI3K/AKT signal pathway.

MiR-564 is down-regulated in osteosarcoma and inhibits the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells via targeting Akt.

Aberrant expression of miRNAs has been observed in a variety of human cancers. In this study, we reported that miR-564 was down-regulated in human osteosarcoma (OS) cell lines and patients. Overexpression of miR-564 in OS cells suppressed the cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis. Mechanistically, we identified Akt as a direct target of miR-564. Highly expressed miR-564 decreased the expression of Akt at both mRNA and protein level and consequently, inhibited the essential role of Akt in the glycolysis of OS cells. Notably, restoring the expression of Akt in miR-564 overexpressing cells recovered the glucose metabolism and cell growth. These results suggested that miR-564 inhibited the glycolysis and cell proliferation through directly targeting Akt, which highlighted the potential application of miR-564-Akt axis in the treatment of osteosarcoma.

SPRY4 Intronic Transcript 1 Promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Through Association with Snail1 in Osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive tumor and the most common malignancy of the skeleton. Due to pulmonary metastasis, the 5-year survival rate is still unsatisfactory. It has been reported that SPRY4 intronic transcript 1 (SPRY4-IT1) promotes cell growth, invasion, and inhibits apoptosis in several cancers. However, the role of SPRY4-IT1 in osteosarcoma remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of SPRY4-IT1 in osteosarcoma cells. Loss- and gain-of-function assays demonstrated that SPRY4-IT1 promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in osteosarcoma. Moreover, SPRY4-IT1 induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype in osteosarcoma cells. Subsequent investigations revealed that SPRY4-IT1 promoted migration and invasion through association with Snail1 and regulating its stability. Based on these findings, the SPRY4-IT1/Snail1/E-cadherin pathway may play a crucial role in promoting osteosarcoma metastasis. Thus, SPRY4-IT1 may be a potential target for new therapies of osteosarcoma.