title: Upregulation of Mir-21 Levels in the Vitreous Humor Is Associated with Development of Proliferative Vitreoretinal Disease.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by post-transcriptional inhibition of mRNA translation. Dysregulation of miRNAs, including circulating miRNAs, has been reported to play an important role in the development of various diseases, including fibrotic diseases. Aberrant expression of miRNAs in the vitreous humor of vitreoretinal diseased eyes has been reported. However, the expression pattern of miRNAs present in the vitreous humor of proliferative vitreoretinal disease (PVD) patients, including proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), remains unknown. To investigate the factors important for the development of PVD, we characterized the miRNAs present in the vitreous humor of PVD patients and analyzed the expression profiles of 377 miRNAs using quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based miRNA arrays. The expression of a specific subset of miRNAs, previously reported to be associated with the development of angiogenesis and fibrosis, was significantly altered in the vitreous of PVD patients. Among these miRNAs, we identified miR-21 as a candidate fibrotic miRNA with an important role in the pathogenesis of PVD. Increased miR-21 levels in the vitreous were associated with retinal fibrosis, including PVR and PDR. Because epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPECs) plays a critical role in retinal fibrosis, the expression of miR-21 in human RPECs was determined. Its expression in RPECs was induced by transforming growth factor-β, a key growth factor involved in fibrogenesis, and was enhanced by high glucose culture conditions, suggesting that miR-21 expression positively correlates with disease progression. Gain- and loss-of-function studies revealed that miR-21 promoted cell proliferation and migration of ARPE-19 cells without affecting EMT-related gene expression. Together, our studies have identified miR-21 as a potential disease-modifying miRNA in the vitreous humor that is involved in the development of retinal fibrosis and may be a novel marker of PVD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Usui-Ouchi
authors.affiliation: Division of Innate Regulation, International Research, and Development Center for Mucosal Vaccine, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ouchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiyokawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Rei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ebihara
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002460:Cell Line; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta