Author's summary
Preventing myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is essential for treatment of ischemic heart diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms of MIRI are far from understood. Here, we explored long non-coding RNA prostate androgen regulated transcript 1 (PART1)’ role on MIRI. We found PART1 was downregulated in hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-treated AC16 cells. PART1 overexpression protected cardiomyocytes against H/R-triggered autophagy and apoptosis. Mechanistically, PART1 induced transcription factor activating enhancer-binding protein 2C (TFAP2C) expression by targeting miR-302a-3p, TFAP2C bond to dual-specificity phosphatase 5 (DUSP5) promoter to upregulate DUSP5. Functional analyses demonstrated PART1 exhibited cardioprotective effects through the miR-302a-3p/TFAP2C/DUSP5 axis, representing a potential target for MIRI treatment.