LncRNA UCA1 alleviates aberrant hippocampal neurogenesis through regulating miR-375/SFRP1-mediated WNT/β-catenin pathway in kainic acid-induced epilepsy

Acta Biochim Pol. 2021 Apr 8;68(2):159-167. doi: 10.18388/abp.2020_5448.

Abstract

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a chronic disease of the nervous system, associated with increased proliferation in the hippocampus. Urothcarcinoma associated 1 (UCA1) is a long long non-coding RNA that was shown to regulate proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitors in vitro. We hypothesised that TLE-associated abnormal proliferation is a consequence of the downregulation of UCA1. This hypothesis was tested in mice with kainic acid (KA)-induced seizures, and then the potential mechanism was explored in vitro and in vivo. Result showed that the expression of UCA1 and Secreted Frizzled Related Protein 1 (SFRP1) were significantly reduced in hippocampal tissues of epileptic mice, while miR-375 was increased compared with the control group. Pearson correlation analysis showed that UCA1 was positively correlated with SFRP1, while miR-375 was negatively correlated with UCA1 and SFRP1. Besides, UCA1 was overexpressed in mice and the overexpression of UCA1 significantly reversed the abnormal proliferation of hippocampal neurons in epilepsy mice. In vitro Luciferase assay showed that UCA1 and Sfrp1 are both the targets of miR-375, and UCA1 promotes the expression of Sfrp1 by competitively adsorbing miR-375, thereby inhibiting the activation of the WNT/β-catenin pathway. The inactivation of the WNT/β-catenin pathway prevented the abnormal proliferation of neural progenitors in the epileptic hippocampus. In conclusion, our findings provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of UCA1.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics
  • Epilepsy / genetics*
  • Epilepsy / metabolism
  • Genetic Vectors / pharmacology
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Hippocampus / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism
  • Kainic Acid / adverse effects
  • Male
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • MicroRNAs / genetics
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism*
  • Neurogenesis / drug effects*
  • Neurogenesis / genetics
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / genetics*
  • Wnt Signaling Pathway / drug effects*
  • Wnt Signaling Pathway / genetics

Substances

  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • MIRN375 microRNA, human
  • Membrane Proteins
  • MicroRNAs
  • Mirn375 microRNA, mouse
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • Sfrp1 protein, mouse
  • UCA1 RNA, human
  • WD repeat containing planar cell polarity effector
  • Kainic Acid