Inhibition of microRNA-103 attenuates inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress in atherosclerosis through disrupting the PTEN-mediated MAPK signaling

Atherosclerosis (AS), a chronic disorder of large arteries, is the underlying pathological process of heart disease and stroke. Former researchers have found that microRNAs (miRs) are involved in the several key processes of AS. Apolipoprotein E knockout (ApoE(-/-)) mice fed a high-fat-diet (HFD) to establish AS model. The expression of miR-103 was characterized in the mice model. The effects of miR-103 on inflammation and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) were analyzed when the expression of miR-103 was inhibited in ApoE(-/-) mice fed an HFD and human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) exposed to oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL). The relationship between miR-103 and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was identified by luciferase activity detection and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Gain- and loss-function approaches were further applied for investigating the regulatory effects of miR-103 and PTEN on ERS. Role of MAPK signaling was then analyzed using PD98059 to block this pathway. miR-103 was highly expressed in the ApoEApoE(-/-) mice fed an HFD. Downregulation of miR-103 suppressed inflammation and ERS in endothelial cells isolated from ApoE(-/-) mice fed a HFD and ox-LDL-exposed HAECs. In addition, miR-103 can target PTEN and downregulate its expression. Overexpression of PTEN reversed the miR-103-induced activation of MAPK signaling. Moreover, PTEN upregulation or MAPK signaling inhibition ease miR-103-induced inflammation and ERS in vivo and in vitro. Thus, miR-103 depletion restrains the progression of AS through blocking PTEN-mediated MAPK signaling.