School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
J Physiol. 2023 Aug;601(16):3631-3645. doi: 10.1113/JP284746. Epub 2023 Jul 4.
Preeclampsia (PE) differentially impairs female and male fetal endothelial cell function, which is associated with an increased risk of adult-onset cardiovascular disorders in children born to mothers with PE. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly defined. We hypothesize that dysregulation of microRNA-29a-3p and 29c-3p (miR-29a/c-3p) in PE disturbs gene expression and cellular responses to cytokines in fetal endothelial cells in a fetal sex-dependent manner. RT-qPCR analysis of miR-29a/c-3p was performed on female and male unpassaged (P0) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) from normotensive (NT) pregnancies and PE. Bioinformatic analysis of an RNA-seq dataset was performed to identify PE-dysregulated miR-29a/c-3p target genes in female and male P0-HUVECs. Gain- and loss-of-function assays were conducted to determine the effects of miR-29a/c-3p on endothelial monolayer integrity and proliferation in response to transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα) in NT and PE HUVECs at passage 1. We observed that PE downregulated miR-29a/c-3p in male and female P0-HUVECs. PE dysregulated significantly more miR-29a/c-3p target genes in female vs. male P0-HUVECs. Many of these PE-differentially dysregulated miR-29a/c-3p target genes are associated with critical cardiovascular diseases and endothelial function. We further demonstrated that miR-29a/c-3p knockdown specifically recovered the PE-abolished TGFβ1-induced strengthening of endothelial monolayer integrity in female HUVECs, while miR-29a/c-3p overexpression specifically enhanced the TNFα-promoted cell proliferation in male PE HUVECs. In conclusion, PE downregulates miR-29a/c-3p expression and differentially dysregulates miR-29a/c-3p target genes associated with cardiovascular diseases and endothelial function in female and male fetal endothelial cells, possibly contributing to the fetal sex-specific endothelial dysfunction observed in PE. KEY POINTS: Preeclampsia differentially impairs female and male fetal endothelial cell function in responses to cytokines. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are elevated in maternal circulation during pregnancy in preeclampsia. MicroRNAs are critical regulators of endothelial cell function during pregnancy. We have previously reported that preeclampsia downregulated microRNA-29a-3p and 29c-3p (miR-29a/c-3p) in primary fetal endothelial cells. However, it is unknown if PE differentially dysregulates the expression of miR-29a/c-3p in female and male fetal endothelial cells. We show that preeclampsia downregulates miR-29a/c-3p in male and female HUVECs and preeclampsia dysregulates cardiovascular disease- and endothelial function-associated miR-29a/c-3p target genes in HUVECs in a fetal sex-specific manner. MiR-29a/c-3p differentially mediate cell responses to cytokines in female and male fetal endothelial cells from preeclampsia. We have revealed fetal sex-specific dysregulation of miR-29a/c-3p target genes in fetal endothelial cells from preeclampsia. This differential dysregulation may contribute to fetal sex-specific endothelial dysfunction in offspring born to preeclamptic mothers.
子痫前期(PE)以胎儿性别依赖的方式损害女性和男性胎儿内皮细胞功能,这与母亲患有 PE 的儿童成年后发生心血管疾病的风险增加有关。然而,其潜在机制仍不清楚。我们假设,PE 中 miR-29a-3p 和 29c-3p(miR-29a/c-3p)的失调会以胎儿性别依赖的方式扰乱胎儿内皮细胞中细胞因子的基因表达和细胞反应。对来自正常血压(NT)妊娠和 PE 的未传代(P0)人脐静脉内皮细胞(HUVEC)进行 miR-29a/c-3p 的 RT-qPCR 分析。对 RNA-seq 数据集进行生物信息学分析,以鉴定在女性和男性 P0-HUVEC 中与 PE 失调的 miR-29a/c-3p 靶基因。进行增益和缺失功能测定,以确定 miR-29a/c-3p 在 NT 和 PE HUVEC 中对转化生长因子-β1(TGFβ1)和肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNFα)反应的内皮单层完整性和增殖的影响。我们观察到 PE 在男性和女性 P0-HUVEC 中下调 miR-29a/c-3p。PE 在女性 vs. 男性 P0-HUVEC 中失调更多的 miR-29a/c-3p 靶基因。这些与心血管疾病和内皮功能相关的 PE 差异失调的 miR-29a/c-3p 靶基因很多。我们进一步证明,miR-29a/c-3p 敲低特异性恢复了 PE 消除的 TGFβ1 诱导的女性 HUVEC 内皮单层完整性增强,而 miR-29a/c-3p 过表达特异性增强了 TNFα 促进的男性 PE HUVEC 细胞增殖。总之,PE 下调 miR-29a/c-3p 的表达,并以胎儿性别依赖的方式差异失调与心血管疾病和内皮功能相关的 miR-29a/c-3p 靶基因,可能导致 PE 中观察到的胎儿性别特异性内皮功能障碍。关键点:子痫前期在细胞因子反应中以胎儿性别依赖的方式损害女性和男性胎儿内皮细胞功能。促炎细胞因子在子痫前期孕妇的母体循环中升高。微小 RNA 是妊娠期间内皮细胞功能的关键调节剂。我们之前报道过,子痫前期下调了原代胎儿内皮细胞中的 microRNA-29a-3p 和 29c-3p(miR-29a/c-3p)。然而,尚不清楚 PE 是否以胎儿性别依赖的方式差异失调女性和男性胎儿内皮细胞中 miR-29a/c-3p 的表达。我们表明,PE 在男性和女性 HUVEC 中下调 miR-29a/c-3p,PE 以胎儿性别特异性的方式失调与心血管疾病和内皮功能相关的 miR-29a/c-3p 靶基因在 HUVEC 中。miR-29a/c-3p 在 PE 中的女性和男性胎儿内皮细胞中差异调节细胞对细胞因子的反应。我们揭示了 PE 中胎儿性别特异性的 miR-29a/c-3p 靶基因失调。这种差异失调可能导致母亲患有子痫前期的儿童成年后发生胎儿性别特异性的内皮功能障碍。