miR-148a-3p regulates proliferation and apoptosis of bovine muscle cells by targeting KLF6.

Skeletal muscle development is regulated by a series of regulatory factors, and also including noncoding RNA, especially microRNAs (miRNAs). Recently, miR-148a has been found to be involved in murine C2C12 differentiation by targeting ROCK1. However, the function of miR-148a-3p for the proliferation and apoptosis of bovine muscle cells has not been determined. In this study, we found that miR-148a-3p was highly expressed in fetal bovine skeletal muscle and exhibited a decreasing trend in muscle cells during its growth phase. Functional studies indicated that gain of miR-148a-3p inhibited the proliferation of bovine muscle cells and promoted apoptosis. Conversely, interference with miR-148a-3p inhibitor promoted muscle cell proliferation and inhibited its apoptosis. Mechanistically, KLF6 was confirmed as a new potential target gene of miR-148a-3p by TargetScan software prediction and the dual-luciferase assay verification. Additionally, after a gain or loss of KLF6, the function of KLF6 for muscle cell proliferation and apoptosis was opposite to that of miR-148a-3p. Collectively, these findings proposed a novel avenue whereby miR-148a-3p impeded bovine myoblast cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis through the posttranscriptional downregulation of KLF6.