MiR34 inhibition induces human heart progenitor proliferation

MiR34 involvement in myocardial injury repair and ageing has been well documented in mouse model. Our aim was to establish whether the inhibition of miR34 expression through locked nucleic acid (LNA) could be used as a pharmacological intervention to enhance human heart repair. Cardiac progenitor cells were obtained by right atrial specimen collection during intraoperative procedures. Our analysis revealed a direct correlation between miR34 expression and patient age, and its silencing by LNA promoted the cardiac progenitor growth rate up to twofold (+/- 0.8). Our results confirmed the relevance of miR34a in human heart ageing, as previously demonstrated in mouse. Moreover, the decrease of miR34 expression in the cardiac progenitor cell population indicates its role in maintaining an undifferentiated status and consequently in a lower proliferation rate with the involvement of genes such as Notch-1, Numb, and p63.