Long noncoding RNA HOTTIP promotes endothelial cell proliferation and migration via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Atherosclerosis is the major cause of stroke and heart disease. However, the course and pathogenesis of atherosclerosis remains unknown. The proliferation and migration of endothelial cell play important roles in the inition and pathological progression of atherosclerosis. In this study, we demonstrated that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) HOXA transcript at the distal tip (HOTTIP) expression level was higher in coronary artery disease (CAD) tissues than in normal arterial tissues. The expression level of HOTTIP was upregulated in the proliferating endothelial cells induced by TNF-α or PDGF-BB. Ectopic expression of HOTTIP promoted endothelial cell proliferation and also increased the expression of proliferating makers cyclin D1 and PCNA. Moreover, elevated expression of HOTTIP promoted endothelial cell migration. Downregulation expression of HOTTIP suppressed endothelial cell proliferation and migration. Furthermore, we determined that overexpression of HOTTIP induced β-catenin expression and enhanced the downstream protein c-Myc expression in the endothelial cell. Ectopic expression of HOTTIP increased endothelial cell proliferation and migration via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. These results suggested that HOTTIP might manipulate the endothelial cell proliferation and migration via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.