miR-21 increases c-kit+cardiac stem cell proliferationin vitrothrough PTEN/PI3K/Akt signaling.
The low survival rate of cardiac stem cells (CSCs) in the ischemic myocardium is one of the obstacles in ischemic cardiomyopathy cell therapy. The MicroRNA (miR)-21 and one of its target protein, the tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN), contributes to the proliferation of many kinds of tissues and cell types. It is reported that miR-21 promotes proliferation through PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathway, but its effects on c-kit+CSC remain unclear. The authors hypothesized that miR-21 promotes the proliferation in c-kit+CSC, and evaluated the involvement of PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathwayin vitro. miR-21 up-regulation with miR-21 efficiently mimics accelerated cell viability and proliferation in c-kit+CSC, which was evidenced by the CCK-8, EdU and cell cycle analyses. In addition, the over-expression of miR-21 in c-kit+CSCs notably down-regulated the protein expression of PTEN although the mRNA level of PTEN showed little change. Gain-of-function of miR-21 also increased the phosphor-Akt (p-Akt) level. Phen, the selective inhibitor of PTEN, reproduced the pro-proliferation effects of miR-21, while PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, totally attenuated the pro-survival effect of miR-21. These results indicate that miR-21 is efficient in promoting proliferation in c-kit+CSCs, which is contributed by the PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathway. miR-21 holds the potential to facilitate CSC therapy in ischemic myocardium.
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Bei
B
Shi
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Wenwen
W
Deng
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Xianping
X
Long
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Ranzun
R
Zhao
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Yan
Y
Wang
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Wenming
W
Chen
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Guanxue
G
Xu
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Jin
J
Sheng
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Dongmei
D
Wang
Department of Anesthesiology, Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.|Guizhou Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Organ Protection, Zunyi Medical College, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
Song
S
Cao
Ischemic cardiomyopathy; PI3K-Akt pathway; PTEN; Proliferation; c-kit+ cardiac stem cell; microRNA-21