LncRNA HIF1A-AS1 Regulates the Cellular Function of HUVECs by Globally Regulating mRNA and miRNA Expression

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) hypoxia inducible factor 1α-antisense RNA 1 (HIF1A-AS1) serves critical roles in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Vascular endothelial cells (VECs) are vulnerable to stimuli. Our previous study revealed that knockdown of HIF1A-AS1 reduces palmitic acid-induced apoptosis and promotes the proliferation of human VECs (HUVECs); however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

Cell Counting Kit-8, flow cytometry, transwell invasion, and wound healing were applied to detect the function of HUVECs. Moreover, miRNA sequencing (miRNA-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were conducted to uncover its underlying mechanism. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) was implemented to assess the accuracy of miRNA-seq. A co-expression network was generated to determine the relationship between differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs).

Knockdown of HIF1A-AS1 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion but reduced the apoptosis of HUVECs, and the overexpression of this lncRNA had the opposite effect. Numerous DEmiRNAs and DEGs were identified, which might contribute to this phenomenon. Multiple target genes of DEmiRNAs were associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis, and overlapped with DEGs identified from RNA-seq. Finally, the network manifested that lncRNA HIF1A-AS1 moderated the function of HUVECs by not only regulating the expression of some genes directly but also by influencing a few miRNAs to indirectly mediate the expression of mRNAs.

The results suggested that HIF1A-AS1 might regulate HUVEC function by not only regulating the expression of some genes directly but also by influencing some miRNAs to indirectly mediate the expression level of mRNA.