Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the role of microRNA-34a(miR-34a) in the induction of apoptosis of human lens epithelial cells.
Methods :
The apoptosis in human lens epithelial (HLE-B3) cells was detected by Annexin V-PE apoptosis detection kit after the treatment with 200 μM H2O2 for 24 hours and lentiviral miR-34a vector transfection. The expression of miR-34a in HLE-B3 cells was quantified by qRT-PCR in response to H2O2 exposure and lentiviral miR-34a vector transfection. The effects of overexpression of miR-34a on the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) was determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot.
Results :
The expression of miR-34a was up-regulated by the treatment of H2O2 in HLE-B3 cells. The increased expression of miR-34a is accompanied with the cell apoptosis. Consistence with the H2O2 exposure, ectopic overexpression of miR-34a in HLE-B3 cells promoted cells apoptosis. Importantly the anti-apoptosis factors Bcl-2 and SIRT1 were reduced significantly by up-regulation of miR-34a in HLE-B3 cells.
Conclusions :
MiR-34a promotes apoptosis of human lens epithelial cells by down-regulating Bcl-2 and SIRT1, suggesting that miR-34a may involve in the pathogenesis of cataract formation and targeting miR-34a may be potentially therapeutic approach for the treatment of cataract.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.