Effect of microRNA-370 on coronary atherosclerosis and its underlying mechanism

As a global health problem, cardiovascular disease threatens the lives of human beings. It has been reported that microRNAs (miRs) are important in regulating coronary atherosclerosis. In the present study, the expression levels of miR-370 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with coronary atherosclerosis were significantly increased compared with healthy patients, as demonstrated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Additionally, the target of miR-370 was predicted as Forkhead Box 1 (FOXO1) with bioinformatics, and was confirmed by a dual luciferase assay. The mRNA and protein expression levels of FOXO1 were inhibited by miR-370. Furthermore, the invasion and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells were promoted by miR-370 via inhibiting the expression of FOXO1. The results obtained in the present study demonstrated that miR-370 served an important role in regulating coronary atherosclerosis via targeting FOXO1. The present data also indicated that miR-370 may be a promising molecular target for treating coronary atherosclerosis.