MiR-346 regulates the development of ARDS by regulating the function of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells

Abstract

In recent years, many studies have reported that microRNAs play an important role in the pathogenesis of a variety of diseases, and the aim of this paper is to explore the role and mechanism of miR-346 in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). A mouse model of ARDS was constructed by LPS induction, and RT-qPCR assay was used to verify that the expression level of miR-346 in lung tissue was significantly increased, and was negatively correlated with oxygenation index. Inhibiting the expression of miR-346 in mice and HPMECs by miR-346 inhibitor confirmed that decreased miR-346 expression could lead to increased oxygenation index, decreased lung index, lung water content and NO content to reduce lung injury in mice, while lung inflammation was alleviated and apoptosis was reduced in mice. The same results were obtained in cells. BCL6 was predicted to be a target of miR-346 by targetscan and miRDB; when miR-346 was inhibited, BCL6 expression was increased, and if miR-346 and BCL6 expression were inhibited at the same time, it could aggravate lung injury and reduce the proliferation of HPMECs and increase their apoptosis and inflammation in mice. This shows that miR-346 inhibits the migration of HPMECs by regulating BCL6 expression, which in turn promotes the apoptosis of HPMECs, leading to inflammation and inducing ARDS.