Shear stress-regulated miR-27b controls pericyte recruitment by repressing SEMA6A and SEMA6D

Demolli, Shemsi; Doddaballapur, Anuradha; Devraj, Kavi; Stark, Konstantin; Manavski, Yosif; Eckart, Annekathrin; Zehendner, Christoph M.; Lucas, Tina; Korff, Thomas; Hecker, Markus; Massberg, Steffen; Liebner, Stefan; Kaluza, David; Boon, Reinier A. und Dimmeler, Stefanie (2017): Shear stress-regulated miR-27b controls pericyte recruitment by repressing SEMA6A and SEMA6D. In: Cardiovascular Research, Bd. 113, Nr. 6: S. 681-691

Abstract

Vessel maturation involves the recruitment of mural cells such as pericytes and smooth muscle cells. Laminar shear stress is a major trigger for vessel maturation, but the molecular mechanisms by which shear stress affects recruitment of pericytes are unclear. MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding RNAs, which post-transcriptionally control gene expression. The aim of the present study was to unveil the mechanism by which shear stress-regulated microRNAs contribute to vessel maturation. Here, we show that laminar shear stress increased miR-27a and miR-27b expression in vitro and in ex vivo in mouse femoral artery explants. Overexpression of miR-27b in endothelial cells increased pericyte adhesion and pericyte recruitment in vitro. In vitro barrier function of endothelial-pericyte co-cultures was augmented by miR-27b overexpression, whereas inhibition of miR-27a/b reduced adhesion and pericyte coverage and decreased barrier functions. In vivo, pharmacological inhibition of miR-27a/b by locked nucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides significantly reduced pericyte coverage and increased water content in the murine uterus. MiR-27b overexpression repressed semaphorins (SEMA), which mediate repulsive signals, and the vessel destabilizing human but not mouse Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2). Silencing of SEMA6A and SEMA6D rescued the reduced pericyte adhesion by miR-27 inhibition. Furthermore, inhibition of SEMA6D increased barrier function of an endothelial-pericyte co-culture in vitro. The present study demonstrates for the first time that shear stress-regulated miR-27b promotes the interaction of endothelial cells with pericytes, partly by repressing SEMA6A and SEMA6D.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Medizin
• Themengebiete: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
• ISSN: 0008-6363
• Sprache: Englisch