Abstract
The overloaded heart remodels by cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis, which contributes to the development of heart failure. Signalling via the TGFβ-pathway is crucial for this remodelling. Here we tested the hypothesis that microRNAs in the overloaded heart regulate this remodelling process via inhibition of the TGFβ-pathway. We show that the miRNA-15 family, which we found to be up-regulated in the overloaded heart in multiple species, inhibits the TGFβ-pathway by targeting of TGFBR1 and several other genes within this pathway directly or indirectly, including p38, SMAD3, SMAD7, and endoglin. Inhibition of miR-15b by subcutaneous injections of LNA-based antimiRs in C57BL/6 mice subjected to transverse aorta constriction aggravated fibrosis and to a lesser extent also hypertrophy. We identified the miR-15 family as a novel regulator of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis acting by inhibition of the TGFβ-pathway
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 61-71 |
Journal | Cardiovascular research |
Volume | 104 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |