MiR-218 regulated cardiomyocyte differentiation and migration in mouse embryonic stem cells by targeting PDGFRα

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as key players in cardiogenesis and heart pathophysiological processes. However, many miRNAs are still not recognized for their roles in cardiomyocytes differentiation. In this study, we evaluated the effects of microRNA-218 (miR-218) in cardiomyocyte differentiation of the mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in vitro. The percentage of the beating embryoid bodies (EBs) in miR-218 mimic-treated cells was reduced to 32% compared with miR-218 mimic negative control (56%) on day 5 + 3. The amplitude of the intracellular Ca²⁺ transients in the cardiomyocytes derived from ESCs was reduced upon miR-218 overexpression, followed by the decreased calcium-related proteins and cell junction proteins expressions. Besides, miR-218 expression in ESCs was related to the directional spreading ability of EBs during differentiation. The increased expression of miR-218 could promote the migration of ESCs in vitro, while the decreased expression of miR-218 could inhibit the migration by the transwell experiment. Meanwhile, miR-218 could regulate cell migration-related proteins Cdc42 and Rac1. Platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRα) was further confirmed to be a direct target of miR-218 both physically and functionally by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Our data further described that overexpression of PDGFRα rescued the miR-218-mediated inhibition of cardiomyocyte differentiation and restored the miR-218-mediated promotion of cell migration. In conclusion, miR-218 was demonstrated to exert an inhibitory function and promoted cell migration via targeting PDGFRα during cardiomyocyte differentiation from ESCs. The current study revealed the role of miR-218 and may provide an important hint for cardiomyocyte differentiation of ESCs and induced pluripotent stem cells.