The microRNA-210/Casp8ap2 Axis Alleviates Hypoxia-Induced Myocardial Injury by Regulating Apoptosis and Autophagy

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Biology
• Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
• Cellular Stress Response

Background:

• Coronary heart disease (CHD) involves myocardial injury due to atherosclerosis-induced hypoxia.
• Understanding the molecular pathways regulating hypoxic myocardial cells is crucial for developing treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of the miR-210/Casp8ap2 signaling pathway in hypoxic myocardial cells.
• To determine how miR-210 affects apoptosis and autophagy in cardiomyocytes under hypoxic conditions.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting for gene and protein expression.
• MTT assay for cell survival and flow cytometry for apoptosis and cell cycle analysis.
• Dual-luciferase reporter assay to confirm direct targeting of Casp8ap2 by miR-210.

Main Results:

• Overexpression of miR-210 inhibited apoptosis and reduced G1 phase cell proportion in hypoxic cardiomyocytes.
• miR-210 suppressed autophagy by upregulating p62 and decreasing the LC3-II/I ratio.
• miR-210 directly targets Casp8ap2, leading to decreased expression of Casp8ap2, Cleaved caspase 8, Cleaved caspase 3, and Beclin-1.

Conclusions:

• miR-210 exhibits anti-apoptotic and anti-autophagic properties in hypoxic cardiomyocytes.
• The miR-210/Casp8ap2 pathway plays a significant role in alleviating myocardial injury during hypoxia.