MiR-101-3p induces vascular endothelial cell dysfunction by targeting tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2.

Abstract

Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction represents an early key event in atherosclerosis. Recently, MicroRNAs have been demonstrated to regulate EC function. miR-101-3p has been discovered to regulate cell apoptosis and proliferation in cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to clarify whether miR-101-3p regulates the dysfunction of vascular endothelial cells. In this study, the transfection of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with miR-101-3p mimic induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, EC dysfunction, and activated nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), whereas transfection with miR-101-3p inhibitor alleviated these events. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine alleviated miR-101-3p-induced EC dysfunction. Moreover, we observed that miR-101-3p inhibited the expression of tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2 (TET2) at the posttranscriptional level, resulting in increased ROS production and activated NF-κB. TET2 overexpression inhibited ROS production, EC dysfunction, and NF-κB activation in miR-101-3p-transfected HUVECs. These results indicate that miR-101-3p induces EC dysfunction by targeting TET2, which regulates ROS production, EC dysfunction, and NF-κB activation. Taken together, our current study reveals a novel pathway associated with EC dysfunction. The modulation of miR-101-3p and TET2 expression levels may serve as a potential target for therapeutic strategies for atherosclerosis.