Profiling the differentially expressed circRNAs.
ADSCs-Exo were obtained by using previously published methods(7). Firstly, we compared the circRNA expression profile between ADSCs and ADSCs-Exo using circRNA chip. Seven circRNAs with the most dramatic upregulation in ADSCs-Exo were selected from the differentially expressed circRNAs(Table 1).
Table 1 Differentially expressed circRNAs between ADSCs and ADSCs-Exo
circRNA-ID
|
hostgene
|
up/down
|
circ-0008302
|
Ralgps2
|
up
|
circ-0002468
|
Mknk2
|
up
|
circ-0002157
|
Rnf217
|
up
|
circ-0008982
|
Serpine2
|
up
|
circ-0008455
|
Rgs7
|
up
|
circ-0010012
|
Cacnb4
|
up
|
circ-0009075
|
Hdac4
|
up
|
circ0007490
|
Dcc
|
up
|
Among those, circ-0008302(host gene-Ralgps2)was reported to be highly expressed in the heart and played critical functions in cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival(14, 15); circ-0002468(host gene-Mknk2)could not design specific primers to detect; circ-0002157(host gene-Rnf217)is associated with poor prognosis of myeloma(16); circ-0008982(host gene- Serpine2)was reported to promote myocardial fibrosis(17, 18); circ-0008455(host gene-Rgs7)was induced in the dentate gyrus after ischemia(19); circ-0010012(host gene-Cacnb4)encodes a calcium channel subunit expressed in the heart and is important for myocardial contraction(20); circ-0009075(host gene-Hdac4)is related to myocardial exercise intensity and exercise could enhance HDAC4-NT levels(21); circ0007490(host gene-Dcc)is related to central nervous system dysfunction. The mutation of Dcc gene was reported to cause abnormal axon signal conduction(22). Based on the above backgrounds, we selected circ-0008302, circ-0010012 and circ-0007490 for the further validation by qRT-PCR.
Compared with the control group, the expression of circ-0007490 and circ-0010012 in ADSCs-Exo group was significantly decreased. In contrast, the expression of circ-0008302 was increased. Therefore, circ-0008302 was selected for the subsequent experiments (Figure 1).
Silencing circ-0008302 expression by siRNA.
To investigate the role of circ-0008302, we transfected M6200 mouse cardiac myocytes with circ-0008302 siRNA. Compared with control group, the expression of circ-0008302 was not significantly changed in cells transfected with control siRNA (siRNA-NC), while the expression of circ-0008302 was significantly decreased in cells transfected with circ-0008302 siRNA1-3, with siRNA2 having the most obvious effect, so the circ-0008302 siRNA2 was used in the subsequent experiments (Figure 2).
The effects of ADSCs-Exo and circ-0008302 in H2O2-induced cardiomyocytes injury.
To study the role of ADSCs-Exo and circ-0008302 in H2O2-induced cardiomyocyte damage, we tested the cell proliferation and apoptosis after different treatments. Compared with the control group, H2O2 treatment resulted in a reduction of viability of M6200 cardiac myocytes, which could be rescued by ADSCs-Exo. However, the protective role of ADSCs-Exo was abrogated by circ-0008302 knockdown (Figure 3A). Compared with the control group, H2O2 treatment increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis, while ADSCs-Exo treatment significantly reduced cell apoptosis. However, the anti-apoptotic role of ADSCs-Exo was significantly abrogated by circ-0008302 knockdown (Figure 3B-C). These results suggested that ADSCs-Exo could protect myocardium from ischemic injury, and this function is largely dependent on the circ-0008302 contained in ADSCs-Exo.
ADSCs-Exo can reduce the oxidative damage of cardiomyocytes through circ-0008302.
Cardiomyocyte damage caused by H2O2 is mainly due to the production of a large amount of ROS. Therefore, we tested whether ADSCs-Exo can reduce ROS production through circ-0008302 after H2O2 treatment of cardiomyocytes. Compared with the control group, H2O2 treatment increased the generation of intracellular ROS, which was reversed by ADSCs-Exo treatment. However, the knockdown of circ-0008302 abrogated the role of ADSCs-Exo in reducing intracellular ROS production (Figure 4A-B). Therefore, ADSCs-Exo prevents cardiac myocytes from oxidative damage, and this function is largely dependent on circ-0008302.
The protective effect of ADSCs-Exo and circ-0008302 is mediated by inhibiting the expression of miR-466i-5p to increase the expression of MsrA.
CircRNAs in exosomes often exert their effects by adsorbing miRNAs in cells. Therefore, we tried to find the downstream molecules of circ-0008302. According to the sequencing results, the circ-0008302 was predicted to bind to miR-466d-5p、miR-669f-3p、miR-466i-5p、miR-466b-3p and miR-466c-3p. Among those, miR-466d-5p and miR-466i-5p have more than one binding site. Through previous research results, we found that miR-466i-5p play crucial roles in various kinds of pathological processes including fibrosis(23), inflammation(24, 25), cancer(26) and metabolic disorders(27), while its function in cardiovascular diseases has never been investigated. Therefore, we selected miR-466i-5p for the following experiments.
Compared with the control group, the level of miR-466i-5p in cardiomyocytes treated with H2O2 was increased. ADSCs-Exo treatment significantly decreased the level of miR-466i-5p. However, the level of miR-466i-5p in ADSCs-Exo-treated cardiomyocytes was significantly increased by the knockdown of circ-0008302 (Figure 5A). The above results indicate that the efflux ADSCs-Exo of circ-0008302 can work by reducing the expression of miR-466i-5p induced by H2O2 challenge in cardiomyocytes. Finally, we explored the target gene of miR-466i-5p. It was predicted by Targets can database that the 3'-UTR of MsrA had the potential binding site of miR-466i-5p (Figure 5B). MsrA is an antioxidant factor that can negatively regulate NF-κB pathway and inhibit inflammatory response(28, 29). We then further validated the effect of miR-466i-5p on MsrA expression.
It can be seen from the results that compared with the control group, the level of MsrA in cardiomyocytes treated with H2O2 was decreased, ADSCs-Exo significantly reversed the effect of H2O2. Importantly, circ-0008302 knockdown significantly decreased MsrA expression in ADSCs-Exo-treated cardiomyocytes (Figure 5C-D). In summary, ADSCs-Exo serves as a positive regulator of MsrA expression in cardiomyocytes, this effect might be dependent on circ-0008302-mediated suppression of miR-466i-5p.