Endothelial cell senescence is one of the most important causes of vascular dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are endogenous RNA molecules with covalently closed-loop structures, which have been reported to be abnormally expressed in many human diseases. However, the potential role of circRNAs in endothelial cell senescence and atherosclerosis remains largely unknown. Here, we compared the expression patterns of circRNAs in young and senescent human endothelial cells with RNA sequencing. Among the differentially expressed circRNAs, circGNAQ, a circRNA enriched in vascular endothelium, was significantly downregulated in senescent endothelial cells. circGNAQ silencing triggered endothelial cell senescence, as determined by a rise in senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity, reduced cell proliferation, and suppressed angiogenesis; circGNAQ overexpression showed the opposite effects. Mechanistic studies revealed that circGNAQ acted as an endogenous miR-146a-5p sponge to increase the expression of its target gene PLK2 by decoying the miR-146a-5p, thereby delaying endothelial cell senescence. In vivo studies showed that circGNAQ overexpression in the endothelium inhibited endothelial cell senescence and atherosclerosis progression. These results suggest that circGNAQ plays critical roles in endothelial cell senescence and consequently the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, implying that the management of circGNAQ provides a potential therapeutic approach for limiting the progression of atherosclerosis.
BackgroundAccumulating evidences have shown that miRNAs are directly or indirectly involved in a variety of biological processes, and closely associated with diverse human diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. SNPs locating within pri/pre-miRNA can affect miRNA processing and binding ability of target genes. MiR-27a, miR-26a-1 miR-100, miR-126 and miR-218 were reported to be associated with pathogenesis of myocardial infarction (MI). Here we aimed to evaluate the potential association of five polymorphisms in these pri/pre-miRNAs with individual susceptibility to MI in a Chinese Han population.MethodsGenotyping was performed in 287 MI cases and 646 control subjects using polymerase chain reaction-ligase detection reaction (PCR-LDR) method. The association of these SNPs with MI risk was performed with SPSS software.ResultsIn a logistic regression analysis, we found that AG heterozygote (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.21-0.76, Pa = 0.005) or AA homozygote (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.22-0.75, Pa = 0.004) of pre-miR-27a rs895819 had a reduced susceptibility to MI in comparison with GG homozygote. Similarly, a reduced risk of MI was detected when the AG and AA genotypes were combined (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.22-0.74, Pa = 0.003). However, no significant association between pri-miR-26a-1 pri-miR-100, pri-miR-126 and pri-miR-218 polymorphisms and MI risk was observed under the allelic and established genetic models. Further stratified analysis of pre-miR-27a rs895819 revealed a more significant association of AG + AA genotypes with MI risk among younger, male and smoking subjects. Interestingly, AG and AA genotypes of the rs895819 polymorphism conferred about 0.17 mmol/L and 0.18 mmol/L increase in HDL-C levels compared to GG genotype.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the pre-miR-27a rs895819 polymorphism is associated with MI susceptibility in the Chinese Han population, which probably due to influence the HDL-C levels.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12944-017-0652-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Endothelin-1 (ET-1) plays important roles in endothelial dysfunction, vascular physiology, inflammation, and atherosclerosis. Nonetheless, the role of ET-1 (EDN1) gene variants on coronary artery disease (CAD) risk remains poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of EDN1 gene polymorphisms on individual susceptibility to CAD. We genotyped five tagSNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) (rs6458155, rs4145451, rs9369217, rs3087459, and rs2070699) within EDN1 gene in 525 CAD patients and 675 control subjects. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, we detected an association of rs6458155 in EDN1 gene with the CAD risk; compared with the TT homozygotes, the CT heterozygotes (odds ratio (OR) = 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.02–2.29, P=0.040) and the CC homozygotes (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.01–2.36, P=0.043) were statistically significantly associated with the increased risk for CAD. A similar trend of the association was found in dominant model (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.05–2.25, P=0.029). Consistently, the haplotype rs6458155C-rs4145451C containing rs6458155 C allele exhibited the increased CAD risk (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.03–1.43, and P=0.018). In addition, CT genotype of rs6458155 conferred the increased plasma ET-1 levels compared with TT genotype (P<0.05). No association of the other four tagSNPs in EDN1 gene with CAD risk was observed. In conclusion, our study provides the first evidence that EDN1 tagSNP rs6458155 is associated with CAD risk in the Chinese Han population, which is probably due to the influence of the circulating ET-1 levels.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been established to be involved in numerous processes in the human genome, but their function in vascular aging remains largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to characterize and analyze the function of a circular intronic RNA, ciPVT1, in endothelial cell senescence. We observed significant downregulation of ciPVT1 in senescent endothelial cells. In proliferating endothelial cells, ciPVT1 knockdown induced a premature senescence‐like phenotype, inhibited proliferation, and led to an impairment in angiogenesis. An in vivo angiogenic plug assay revealed that ciPVT1 silencing significantly inhibited endothelial tube formation and decreased hemoglobin content. Conversely, overexpression of ciPVT1 in old endothelial cells delayed senescence, promoted proliferation, and increased angiogenic activity. Mechanistic studies revealed that ciPVT1 can sponge miR‐24‐3p to upregulate the expression of CDK4, resulting in enhanced Rb phosphorylation. Moreover, enforced expression of ciPVT1 reversed the senescence induction effect of miR‐24‐3p in endothelial cells. In summary, the present study reveals a pivotal role for ciPVT1 in regulating endothelial cell senescence and may have important implications in the search of strategies to counteract the development of age‐associated vascular pathologies.
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