MircoRNA in Extracellular Vesicles from Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Alters Endothelial Angiogenic Response

Avinash Khandagale; Padraic Corcoran; Maryam Nikpour; Anders Isaksson; Gerhard Wikström; Agneta Siegbahn; Christina Christersson

doi:10.3390/ijms231911964

MircoRNA in Extracellular Vesicles from Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Alters Endothelial Angiogenic Response

Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 8;23(19):11964. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911964.

Authors

Avinash Khandagale^{1

2}, Padraic Corcoran³, Maryam Nikpour³, Anders Isaksson³, Gerhard Wikström^{1

4}, Agneta Siegbahn², Christina Christersson¹

Affiliations

¹ Cardiology Section, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, SE 75185 Uppsala, Sweden.
² Clinical Chemistry Section, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, SE 75185 Uppsala, Sweden.
³ Array & Analysis Facility Section, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, SE 75185 Uppsala, Sweden.
⁴ Internal Medicine Section, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, SE 75185 Uppsala, Sweden.

Abstract

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by a progressive elevation of pulmonary pressure leading to right ventricular dysfunction and is associated with a poor prognosis. Patients with PAH have increased numbers of circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) and altered expression of circulating microRNAs (miRs). The study aimed to evaluate the miR profile contained within purified EVs derived from the plasma of PAH patients as compared to healthy controls (HC). Circulating EVs, purified from platelet-free plasma were analyzed using flow cytometry, western blot, and electron microscopy. Total RNA isolated from EVs was subjected to Microarray analysis using GeneChip miRNA 4.0 Array and bioinformatics tools. Overexpression and inhibition of miRs were conducted in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (hPAECs) that had been incubated previously with either PAH- or HC-derived EVs. Cell proliferation (MTT assay) and angiogenesis (tube formation assay) were tested in hPAECs to determine miR functionality. MiR profiling revealed 370 heats while comparing PAH and HC groups, 22 of which were found to be down-regulated and 6 were up-regulated in the PAH EVs. Among the altered miRs, miR-486-5p was overexpressed, while miR-26a-5p was downregulated in PAH EVs compared to HC EVs. Inhibition of mir-486-5p or overexpression of miR-26a-5p in hPAECs post-exposure of PAH EVs abrogated proangiogenic and proliferative effects posed by PAH EVs contrary to HC EVs. The angiogenic and proliferative effects of the miRs from PAH EVs were observed to be mediated through nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation. PAH EVs carry and present an altered miR profile that can be targeted to restrict angiogenesis and reduce pulmonary endothelium activation. Further studies concerning miRs from circulating heterogeneous EVs in PAH patients are warranted to understand their potential as targets for treatment in PAH.

Keywords: angiogenesis; extracellular vesicles; miR-26a-5p; miR-486-5p; microRNA; proliferation; pulmonary arterial hypertension; pulmonary artery endothelial cells.

MeSH terms

Endothelial Cells / metabolism
Endothelium / metabolism
Extracellular Vesicles* / genetics
Extracellular Vesicles* / metabolism
Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension / metabolism
Humans
MicroRNAs* / genetics
MicroRNAs* / metabolism
Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension* / genetics

Substances

MicroRNAs

Grants and funding

This study was financed by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Heart and Lung foundation, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, Magnus Bergvall Foundation (2021-04452) and Erik, Karin and Gösta Selanders foundation.