title: Decreased miR-195 Expression Protects Rats from Spinal Cord Injury Primarily by Targeting HIF-1α.
abstract: Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF-1α) protects hypoxic cells from apoptosis and necrosis under ischemic and anoxic conditions. miRNAs are important regulators in the genome. This study aims to explore whether miR-195 is involved in spinal cord injury through HIF-1α. A total of 40 male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were separated into four groups: Sham, Control, Ad-con, and Ad-miR-195. The behavior recovery was explored using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scoring system. Then, the rats were sacrificed, and the spinal cords were collected. The levels of the HIF-1α, Bcl-2, Bax and VEGF proteins were explored using western blotting. H&E and immunohistochemistry were applied to study the morphological changes. qPCR analysis revealed that miR-195 was significantly decreased after spinal cord injury (SCI). Meanwhile, the expression of Bcl-2, VEGF and HIF-1α was increased in animals after SCI. More importantly, administration with Ad-miR-195 significantly decreased the HIF-1α protein level, thereby reducing Bcl-2 and VEGF expression. In addition, Ad-miR-195 also obviously increased the number of apoptotic cells and decreased the neurological recovery in the animals injected with Ad-miR-195. In conclusion, reduced miR-195 expression partially protects rats from spinal cord injury, primarily by targeting HIF-1α.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Wuxi Second Hospital, Wuxi city in Jiangsu province, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Wuxi Second Hospital, Wuxi city in Jiangsu province, China taoba2015617@163.com.
authors.forename: Keqin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; C584139:MIRN195 microRNA, rat; D035683:MicroRNAs