Unraveling the Impact of miR-146a in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Pathophysiology and Right Ventricular Function.
Int J Mol Sci
; 25(15)2024 Jul 24.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39125620
ABSTRACT
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic disorder characterized by excessive pulmonary vascular remodeling, leading to elevated pulmonary vascular resistance and right ventricle (RV) overload and failure. MicroRNA-146a (miR-146a) promotes vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and vascular neointimal hyperplasia, both hallmarks of PAH. This study aimed to investigate the effects of miR-146a through pharmacological or genetic inhibition on experimental PAH and RV pressure overload animal models. Additionally, we examined the overexpression of miR-146a on human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (hPASMCs). Here, we showed that miR-146a genic expression was increased in the lungs of patients with PAH and the plasma of monocrotaline (MCT) rats. Interestingly, genetic ablation of miR-146a improved RV hypertrophy and systolic pressures in Sugen 5415/hypoxia (SuHx) and pulmonary arterial banding (PAB) mice. Pharmacological inhibition of miR-146a improved RV remodeling in PAB-wild type mice and MCT rats, and enhanced exercise capacity in MCT rats. However, overexpression of miR-146a did not affect proliferation, migration, and apoptosis in control-hPASMCs. Our findings show that miR-146a may play a significant role in RV function and remodeling, representing a promising therapeutic target for RV hypertrophy and, consequently, PAH.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pulmonary Artery
/
Ventricular Function, Right
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MicroRNAs
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Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Limits:
Animals
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Humans
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Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Mol Sci
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Portugal
Country of publication:
Suiza