In vivo miR-138-5p inhibition alleviates monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension and normalizes pulmonary KCNK3 and SLC45A3 expression

• Published in: Respiratory research 2020-07, Vol.21 (1), p.186-186, Article 186
• Main Authors: Le Ribeuz, Hélène, Courboulin, Audrey, Ghigna, Maria-Rosa, Lambert, Mélanie, Hautefort, Aurélie, Humbert, Marc, Montani, David, Cohen-Kaminsky, Sylvia, Perros, Frédéric, Antigny, Fabrice
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Administration, Inhalation; Animals; Antagomirs - administration & dosage; Antagomirs - genetics; Antibodies; Apoptosis; Arterial Pressure; Blood pressure; Cardiology and cardiovascular system; Care and treatment; Cell growth; Cell Proliferation; Cells, Cultured; Development and progression; Disease Models, Animal; Experiments; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation; General anesthesia; Genetic aspects; Health aspects; Heart; Hemodynamics; Human health and pathology; Humans; Hypertension; KCNK3; Life Sciences; Lungs; Male; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - antagonists & inhibitors; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; miR-138; miRNA; Monocrotaline; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins - genetics; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins - metabolism; Muscles; Nerve Tissue Proteins - genetics; Nerve Tissue Proteins - metabolism; PAH; Pathogenesis; Potassium channels; Potassium Channels, Tandem Pore Domain - genetics; Potassium Channels, Tandem Pore Domain - metabolism; Proliferation; Protein expression; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension - genetics; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension - metabolism; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension - physiopathology; Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension - prevention & control; Pulmonary arteries; Pulmonary Artery - metabolism; Pulmonary Artery - physiopathology; Pulmonary hypertension; Rats, Wistar; Rodents; Signal Transduction; SLC45A3; Smooth muscle; Software; Systolic pressure; Vascular Remodeling; Veins & arteries; Ventricle
• ISSN: 1465-993X; 1465-9921; 1465-993X; 1465-9921
• DOI: 10.1186/s12931-020-01444-7

The pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) involves many signalling pathways. MicroRNAs are potential candidates involved in simultaneously coordinating multiple genes under such multifactorial conditions. MiR-138-5p is overexpressed in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) from PAH patients and in lungs from rats with monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension (MCT-PH). MiR-138-5p is predicted to regulate the expression of the potassium channel KCNK3, whose loss is associated with the development and progression of PAH. We hypothesized that, in vivo, miR-138-5p inhibition would restore KCNK3 lung expression and subsequently alleviate PAH. Nebulization-based delivery of anti-miR-138-5p to rats with established MCT-PH significantly reduced the right ventricular systolic pressure and significantly improved the pulmonary arterial acceleration time (PAAT). These haemodynamic improvements were related to decrease pulmonary vascular remodelling, lung inflammation and pulmonary vascular cell proliferation in situ. In vivo inhibition of miR-138-5p restored KCNK3 mRNA expression and SLC45A3 protein expression in the lungs. We confirmed that in vivo inhibition of miR-138-5p reduces the development of PH in experimental MCT-PH. The possible curative mechanisms involve at least the normalization of lung KCNK3 as well as SLC45A3 expression.