Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, P.R. China.
Departments of Pathology, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 19 S. Manassas St., Memphis, TN, 38163, USA.
Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 23;8(1):1468. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-19660-z.
DiGeorge syndrome chromosomal region 8 (DGCR8), a double-stranded-RNA-binding protein, participates in the miRNA biogenesis pathway and contributes to miRNA maturation by interacting with the RNAase III enzyme Drosha in cell nuclei. To investigate the role of DGCR8 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) at the postnatal stages, we generated tamoxifen-inducible VSMC specific knockout (iKO) mice by crossing DGCR8 with VSMC specific tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mice SMA-Cre-ER. DGCR8iKO mice display reduced body weight one month following tamoxifen treatment and died around 3 months. Blood pressure and vascular reactivity were significantly reduced in DGCR8iKO mice compared to control. Furthermore, loss of DGCR8 in VSMCs inhibited cell proliferation, migration and neointima formation. VSMC differentiation marker genes, including SMA and SM22, were downregulated in DGCR8 iKO mice. The majority of miRNAs were downregulated in DGCR8iKO mice. Disruption of the DGCR8-mediated miRNA biogenesis pathway attenuated multiple signaling pathways including ERK1/2 and AKT. Our results demonstrate that the DGCR8-mediated miRNA pathway is required for maintaining blood pressure, vascular reactivity and vascular wall remodeling at the postnatal stages.
DGCR8 基因位于 8 号染色体,是一种双链 RNA 结合蛋白,其参与 miRNA 生成途径,并通过与细胞核内的 RNA 酶 III 酶 Drosha 相互作用,促进 miRNA 的成熟。为了研究 DGCR8 在血管平滑肌细胞(VSMCs)中的作用,我们通过将 DGCR8 与 VSMC 特异性的他莫昔芬诱导型 Cre 转基因小鼠 SMA-Cre-ER 进行杂交,构建了 VSMC 特异性敲除(iKO)小鼠。在他莫昔芬处理 1 个月后,DGCR8iKO 小鼠的体重减轻,并在 3 个月左右死亡。与对照组相比,DGCR8iKO 小鼠的血压和血管反应性显著降低。此外,DGCR8 在 VSMCs 中的缺失抑制了细胞增殖、迁移和新生内膜形成。DGCR8iKO 小鼠中的 VSMC 分化标志物基因,包括 SMA 和 SM22,表达下调。DGCR8iKO 小鼠中大多数 miRNA 下调。DGCR8 介导的 miRNA 生物发生途径的破坏减弱了包括 ERK1/2 和 AKT 在内的多个信号通路。我们的研究结果表明,DGCR8 介导的 miRNA 通路对于维持出生后阶段的血压、血管反应性和血管壁重塑是必需的。