Abstract
AimsLong non-coding RNA (lncRNA) VIM Antisense RNA 1 (VIM-AS1) has been reported to be correlated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility, while the roles of this lncRNA in T2D and its complications remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the role of VIM-AS1 in diabetic retinopathy (DR).MethodsGene expression levels in both human specimens and in vitro cultivated cells were determined by qPCR and western blot. Overexpression experiments were performed to analyze gene interactions. Cell apoptosis after transfections was detected by cell apoptosis assay.ResultsWe found that VIM-AS1 was significantly downregulated in T2D patients in comparison with that in healthy controls. Specifically, the expression levels of VIM-AS1 were lowest among T2D patients complicated with DR. Bioinformatics analysis showed that VIM-AS1 can interact with microRNA 29 (miR-29), which is a critical player in high glucose-induced apoptosis of human retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPEs). Dual-luciferase assay also revealed the direct interaction between them. High glucose treatment led to upregulated miR-29 and downregulated VIM-AS1. However, overexpression of VIM-AS1 and miR-29 did not affect the expression of each other. Cell apoptosis analysis showed that overexpression of VIM-AS1 reduced the enhancing effects of miR-29 overexpression on RPEs cell proliferation.ConclusionsTherefore, VIM-AS1 may sponge miR-29 to participate in DR.
Highlights
Diabetes is the most commonly diagnosed metabolic disorder in clinical practice [1]
The expression levels of microRNA 29 (miR-29) in plasma from diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients were measured by qPCR, and the correlation between miR-29 and VIM Antisense RNA 1 (VIM-AS1) was analyzed by linear regression
The present study mainly investigated the functionality of VIM-AS1 in DR
Summary
This article belongs to the topical collection Eye Complications of Diabetes, managed by Giuseppe Querques. The development of diabetic complications including DR involves multiple signaling pathways [7], and the characterization of these molecular pathways is critical for the development of novel targeted therapies [8]. MiRNA and long (> 200 nt) ncRNAs (lncRNAs), are critical players in the pathogenesis of DR [9]. VIM-AS1 is a recently identified cancer-related lncRNA in colon cancer [11]. A recent study reported that the expression of VIM-AS1 was altered in T2D [12]. Our bioinformatics analysis showed that VIM-AS1 may interact with miR-29. This study was carried out to investigate the interaction between VIM-AS1 and miR29 in DR
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