Aim: This study was conducted to investigate the role of the miR-210/Caspase8ap2 pathway in apoptosis and autophagy in hypoxic myocardial cells.
Methods: The miR-control, miR-210 mimic, and miR-210 inhibitor were transfected into rat myocardial H9C2 cells. The transfection efficiency of exogenous miR-210 was determined by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). H9C2 cells were then treated with CoCl2 for 24, 48, and 72 h to generate a myocardial injury model. The apoptosis of H9C2 cells was assessed by flow cytometry. Additionally, a western blot assay was used to determine the expression of the autophagy-associated proteins light chain 3 (LC3), p62 and Beclin-1, and apoptosis-associated proteins Caspase8ap2, cleaved caspase 8, and cleaved caspase 3.
Results: We determined that a 48 h hypoxia treatment duration in H9C2 cardiomyocytes induced myocardial injury. Additionally, the overexpression of miR-210 significantly inhibited cell apoptosis. MiR-210 suppressed autophagy by upregulating p62 and downregulating LC3II/I in hypoxic H9C2 cells. Caspase8ap2 was a putative target of miR-210, miR-210 mediated apoptosis, and autophagy of H9C2 cells via suppressing Caspase8ap2. Furthermore, the expression of caspase 8, caspase 3, and Beclin-1 were decreased in response to miR-210.
Conclusion: miR-210 exhibits anti-apoptosis and anti-autophagy effects, which alleviate myocardial injury in response to hypoxia.