CircDiaph3 aggravates H/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and inflammation through miR-338-3p/SRSF1 axis

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases, accounting for a high incidence rate and high mortality worldwide. Hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced myocardial cell injury is the main cause of AMI. Several studies have shown that circular RNA contributes significantly to the pathogenesis of AMI. Here, we established an AMI mouse model to investigate the effect of circDiaph3 in cardiac function and explore the functional role of circDiaph3 in H/R-induced cardiomyocyte injury and its molecular mechanism. Bioinformatics tool and RT-qPCR techniques were applied to detect circDiaph3 expression in human patient samples, heart tissues of AMI mice, and H/R-induced H9C2 cells. CCK-8 was used to examine cell viability, while annexin-V/PI staining was used to assess cell apoptosis. Myocardial reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were detected by immunofluorescence. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 while pro-apoptotic Bax and cleaved-Caspase-3. Furthermore, ELISA was used to detect inflammatory cytokines production. While bioinformatics tool and RNA pull-down assay were used to verify the interaction between circDiaph3 and miR-338-3p. We found that circDiaph3 expression was high in AMI patients and mice, as well as in H/R-treated H9C2 cells. CircDiaph3 silencing ameliorated apoptosis and inflammatory response of cardiomyocytes in vivo. Moreover, the knockdown of cirDiaph3 mitigated H/R-induced apoptosis and the release of inflammatory mediators like IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in H9C2 cells. Mechanistically, circDiaph3 induced cell apoptosis and inflammatory responses in H/R-treated H9C2 cells by sponging miR-338-3p. Overexpressing miR-338-3p in H/R-treated cells prominently reversed circDiaph3-induced effects. Notably, miR-338-3p inhibited SRSF1 expression in H/R-treated H9C2 cells. While overexpressing SRSF1 abrogated miR-338-3p-mediated alleviation of apoptosis and inflammation after H/R treatment. To summarize, circDiaph3 aggravates H/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and inflammation through the miR-338-3p/SRSF1 axis. These findings suggest that the circDiaph3/miR-338-3pp/SRSF1 axis could be a potential therapeutic target for treating H/R-induced myocardial injury.