A miRNA-101-3p/Bim axis as a determinant of serum deprivation-induced endothelial cell apoptosis

Serum deprivation or withdrawal induces apoptosis in endothelial cells, resulting in endothelial cell dysfunction that is associated with cardiovascular disease. However, there is still limited information on the role of miRNA in serum deprivation-induced apoptosis. Here we found that serum deprivation increased caspase-dependent apoptosis through miRNA-101-3p downregulation, without altering expression of its host gene RNA 3′-terminal phosphate cyclase-like 1, which was highly correlated with suppressed expression levels of Dicer and Argonaute 2 (Ago2), indicating that miR-101-3p is post-transcriptionally elevated in serum-deprived conditions. The decreased miR-101-3p caused elevated Bim expression by targeting its 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR). This resulted in activation of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis via interaction with Bcl-2, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome c release, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and caspase activation. These events were abrogated by miR-101-3p mimic and the proapoptotic Bim siRNA, which suggest a determinant role of the miR-101-3p/Bim axis in serum deprivation-induced apoptosis. The apoptosis induced by miR-101-3p-mediated Bim expression is mediated by both caspase-3 and -1, which are activated by two distinct intrinsic mechanisms, cytochrome c release and ROS-induced inflammasome activation, respectively. In other words, the antioxidant inhibited endothelial cell death mediated by caspase-1 that activated caspase-7, but not caspase-3. These findings provide mechanistic insight into a novel function of miR-101-3p in serum withdrawal-induced apoptosis triggered by activating two different intrinsic or mitochondrial apoptosis pathways, implicating miR-101-3p as a therapeutic target that limits endothelial cell death associated with vascular disorders.

Dysfunction of endothelial cells is directly associated with impaired vasorelaxation, increased inflammation, and increased migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells. 1 As a result, endothelial cell apoptosis, an important marker of vascular damage, is critically implicated in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis, hypertension, heart attack, and stroke. 2 On the basis of mechanisms leading to distinct morphologies, cell death types are classified into apoptosis, autophagic cell death, necroptosis, pyroptosis, and necrosis. 3,4 Among them, apoptosis is caused by two distinct signaling cascades, the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. The extrinsic pathway triggered by death receptor activation is well characterized by identified intracellular signal cascades and sequential caspase activation. 5 In contrast, the intrinsic pathway in response to cellular stresses, such as hypoxia, growth factor deprivation, and cytotoxic chemicals, activates caspase-9 via the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c. 6 The mitochondrial pathway is primarily regulated by the relative levels and activity of the antiapoptotic and proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins. 7 Although the proapoptotic genes can be upregulated in response to cytokine or growth factor withdrawal, 8 the regulatory mechanism is largely unclear.
On the basis on their structures and functions, the members of the Bcl-2 superfamily are divided into prosurvival Bcl-2, proapptotic Bax/Bak, and proapoptotic BH3-only family members. 9 Among proapoptotic Bcl-2 members, Bim has an important role in initiating the mitochondria-dependent caspase-3 activation that is responsible for endothelial cell death, which is a critical process in the pathogenesis of retinopathy. 10 In contrast, the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins inhibit the intrinsic apoptotic pathway and also limit the caspase-1 activation that is involved in inflammation and pyroptosis 11 by preventing the assembly of the NOD-like receptor containing pyrin domain 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. 12,13 Therefore, the balance between antiapoptotic and proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins is an important determinant in regulating endothelial dysfunction and apoptosis.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) post-transcriptionally inhibit the expression of specific genes by binding to the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of target mRNAs. 14 MiRNA plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diasease. 15 A number of miRNAs have been shown to induce endothelial cell dysfunction or mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, contributing to cardiovascular diseases, 16 In fact, several miRNAs, including miR-483-3p, miR-221, miR-222, and miR-17-5p, are overexpressed in tumor cells and contribute to antiapoptosis and drug resistance via downregulation of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members Puma, Bim, and Noxa. 8,[17][18][19] However, the involvement of miRNAs in the intrinsic apoptosis pathway that responds to cellular stresses by regulating proapoptotic Bcl-2 gene expression is largely unknown.
In this study, we found that miRNA-101-3p (miR-101-3p) was downregulated in response to serum deprivation and induced endothelial cell apoptosis by targeting the 3′-UTR of Bim mRNA. These findings suggest that miR-101-3p plays an important role in endothelial cell dysfunction and may be a therapeutic target for treating cardiovascular disorders.

Results
Serum withdrawal decreases miRNA-101-3p biogenesis. Because our previous study showed that hypoxia-responsive miR-101 regulates endothelial cell function related to angiogenesis and survival, 20 we initially examined the effect of serum deprivation on miR-101-3p biogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). When cultured HUVECs with different serum concentrations (5, 1, and 0%) for 8 and 16 h, the precursor miR-101-3p level was inversely proportional to serum concentration, without changing the expression of its host gene RNA 3′-terminal phosphate cyclase-like 1 (RCL1); however, the level of mature miR-101-3p decreased significantly (Figure 1a), and similar results were also observed in several tumor cell lines (Supplementary Figure S1a). These data suggest that serum depletion inhibits miR-101-3p biogenesis at the posttranscriptional level. Because Drosha, Dicer, and Argonaute 2 (Ago2) are crucial for post-transcriptional miRNA biogenesis, 21 we determined these gene expression levels in serum-deprived HUVECs. Serum deprivation diminished the mRNA and protein levels of Dicer and Ago2, but not Drosha (Figures 1b and c). These data suggest that serum deprivation inhibits miR-101-3p biogenesis, without changing RCL1 expression, by decreasing Dicer and Ago2 expression. Hawkins et al. proposed using next-generation sequencing that Dicer deletion can downregulate miR-181c expression, although the result was not reproducible by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. 22 However, our results showed that miRNA-181c level was unchanged in serum-deprived cells (Supplementary Figure S1b). Serum deprivation elicits apoptosis by decreasing miRNA-101-3p biogenesis. Serum withdrawal decreased HUVEC survival with~50% cell death at 30 h, compared with control cells incubated with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS). The cell death was prevented in a dose-dependent manner by transfection with 50-100 nM miR-101-3p (Figures 2a and b), suggesting that miR-101-3p plays an important role in regulating serum deprivation-induced cell death. We next performed TUNEL assay to discriminate between apoptosis and other types of cell death. Serum deprivation resulted in a significant increase in the number of TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells compared with control cells, whose apoptotic effect was inhibited by miR-101-3p (Figures 2c and d). Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis using Annexin V-FITC/PI staining also confirmed that serum deprivation-induced apoptosis, which was inhibited by miR-101-3p (Figures 2e and f MiR-101-3p downregulated by serum deprivation triggers the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. We examined the role of miR-101-3p in serum deprivation-induced caspase activation. Endothelial cell death in serum-free condition was inhibited by the inhibitors of pan-caspase (z-VAD-fmk), caspase-7/3 (Ac-DEVD-cho), caspase-9 (Ac-LEHD-cho) or caspase-1 (Ac-YVAD-cho), but not by the caspase-8 inhibitor (Ac-IETD-cho) ( Figure 3a). Moreover, the cell death was also abolished by transfection with miR-101-3p ( Figure 3a). Similarly, z-VAD-fmk and Ac-YVAD-cho also inhibited serum deprivation-induced endothelial cell apoptosis (Figures 3b  and c). These results suggest that miR-101-3p downregulated by serum deprivation causes caspase-8-independent apoptosis. As expected, serum-deprived cells did not increase caspase-8-like protease (IETDase) activity, proteolytic caspase-8 activation, and its biological substrate Bid cleavage, and these events were not affected by miR-101-3p (Figures 3d and e). Furthermore, miR-101-3p overexpression inhibited the serum withdrawal-induced increases in caspase-9 (LEHDase)-like and caspase-7/3 (DEVDase)-like activities, as did z-VAD-fmk, Ac-LEHD-cho, and Ac-DEVDcho (Figures 3f and g). Similarly, miR-101-3p inhibited proteolytic caspases-9/3 activation in serum-deprived cells ( Figure 3h). In contrast, knockdown of Dicer or Ago2, an upstream mediator of miR-101-3p biogenesis, increased caspase-9-like (LEHDase), caspase-7/3-like (DEVDase), and caspase-1-like (YVADase) activities independent of serum status, and these enzyme activities were significantly reduced by miR-101-3p (Supplementary Figures S2f and S3f). These data suggest that downregulated miR-101-3p plays an important role in triggering the caspase-8independent or intrinsic apoptosis pathway that is evoked by serum deprivation.
Serum deprivation increases Bim expression via decreased miR-101-3p biogenesis. Because serum or trophic factor deprivation induces endothelial cell apoptosis, 23 we predicted the highly reliable apoptosisrelated genes of miR-101-3p using TargetScan, microRNA. org, and miRDB. As a result, we selected Bim as a potential target gene of miR-101-3p given that its target site is conserved among mammals and three Bim isoforms including extra-long, long, and short forms (Supplementary Figure S4a − c). We further verified Bim as a bona fide target of miR-101-3p through the significant increases in Bim mRNA and protein levels as a result of serum deprivation (Figures 4a  and b). In addition, serum-deprived cells increased Bim mRNA 3′-UTR but not its mutant activity, and this increase was suppressed by transfection of miR-101-3p, whose suppressive effect was recovered by antagomiR-101-3p ( Figure 4c). Similar results were also observed in serumsupplemented cells transfected with miR-101-3p or anatogomiR-101-3p ( Figure 4c). As expected, elevated Bim protein levels in the serum-deprived cells were reduced to the control levels by miR-101-3p overexpression (Figure 4d). In addition, Dicer or Ago2 knockdown increased Bim mRNA levels in HUVECs independent of serum status (Supplementary Figures S2g and S3g). We also confirmed that treatment with anatagomiR-101-3p increased Bim expression and apoptotic cell death in serum-supplemented cells (Supplementary Figure S5a − c). These results suggest that serum deprivation increases Bim expression via downregulation of miR-101-3p, which directly targets the 3′-UTR of Bim mRNA.
The serum deprivation-induced intrinsic apoptosis pathway is mediated by the miR-101-3p/Bim axis. Bim, a proapoptotic BH3-only member, activates the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis by interacting with Bcl-2. 24 We examined whether the miR-101-3p/Bim axis would be . Both transfections effectively blocked the serum deprivation-induced increases in Bim mRNA and protein levels, but not the expression of Bax, an internal control gene that is not targeted by miR-101-3p (Figures 5c and d). Moreover, miR-101-3p overexpression and Bim knockdown significantly inhibited the serum deprivation-mediated increases in caspases-9/3-like protease activity (Figures 5e and f). Because Bim is a trigger of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway, 5 we examined the role of miR-101-3p in the mitochondrial events of apoptosis. Serum withdrawal increased the formation of the Bcl-2/Bim complex through upregulation of Bim expression, resulting in a significant reduction of Bcl-2/Bax interaction, and these events were inhibited by transfection with miR-101-3p or Bim siRNA ( Figure 5g). Furthermore, miR-101-3p overexpression or Bim knockdown prevented the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and cytochrome c release from mitochondria in serum-deprived cells (Figures 5h and i). These data suggest that serum deprivation triggers the intrinsic apoptosis pathway via the miR-101-3p/Bim axis responsible for cytochrome c release from mitochondria.
Serum deprivation-induced miR-101-3p/Bim axis causes mitochondria-dependent caspase-1 activation. Mitochondria-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) stimulate the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, 12 leading to caspase-1 activation that induces apoptosis. 25 We found in this study that serum deprivation significantly increased mitochondrial ROS production, which was inhibited by transfection with miR-101-3p or Bim siRNA (Figures 6a  and b). Serum withdrawal stimulated inflammasome assembly through the interaction of a caspase activation and recruitment domain (ASC) with NLRP3 and caspase-1, and this complex formation was decreased by transfection with miR-101-3p or Bim siRNA ( Figure 6c). Under the same experimental condition, the serum deprivation-induced increases in YVADase activity and proteolytic caspase-1 activation were suppressed by miRNA-101-3p or Bim siRNA (Figures 6d and e). Since caspase-1 cleaves proIL-1β and proIL-18 to their mature forms, we next examined whether serum deprivation would regulate expression and maturation of these cytokines. Serum deprivation did not increase detectable levels of IL-1β and IL-18 expression or IL-1β maturation ( Figure 6f). These data suggest that the miR-101-3p/Bim axis promotes mitochondrial ROS generation, which stimulates inflammasome assembly and caspase-1 activation, but not IL-1β and IL-18 expression and maturation, in serum-deprived endothelial cells. Antioxidants inhibits serum deprivation induces caspase-1-mediated apoptosis. We examined using antioxidants whether mitochondrial ROS production is an important factor for serum deprivation-induced caspase-1 activation and apoptosis. As shown by transfection with miR-101-3p or Bim siRNA (Figures 6a and b), treatment with Trolox (antioxidant) or Mito-TEMPO (mitochondria-targeted antioxidant) also effectively inhibited mitochondrial ROS generation in serum-deprived HUVECs (Figures 7a and b). Similarly, both antioxidants suppressed serum starvationinduced assembly of the NLRP3 inflammation, which consists of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 ( Figure 7c). Moreover, the antioxidants significantly inhibited the serum-deprived increases in YVADase activity and proteolytic caspase-1 activation (Figures 7d and e). These results suggest that ROS generated from mitochondria by the miR-101-3p/Bim pathway stimulates inflammasomemediated caspase-1 activation. Further examination of whether mitochondrial ROS is involved in endothelial cell apoptosis via caspase-1 activation showed that the antioxidants Trolox and Mito-TEMPO protected cells from serum deprivation-induced apoptosis, and the protective effect of Mito-TEMPO was further increased by co-treatment with Ac-DEVD-Cho, but not with Ac-YVAD-Cho (Figure 7f), suggesting that caspase-1 activation by ROS-mediated formation of inflammasome promotes apoptosis via activation of DEVDase. Thus, the miR-101-3p/Bim axis plays a key role in serum deprivation-induced apoptosis by promoting inflammasome assembly and caspase-1 activation via mitochondrial ROS production. However, the mitochondrial ROS production was not significantly inhibited by caspase inhibitors, Z-VAD-fmk, Ac-YVAD-cho, Ac-LEHD-cho or Ac-DEVD-cho (Supplementary Figure S6a − c), indicating that caspases are not involved in serum deprivation-induced ROS generation.
Inflammasome-mediated caspase-1 activity induces apoptosis by activating caspase-7, but not caspase-3. Since caspase-1 induces pyroptosis by activating executive caspases, like DEVDase, 26 we examined whether caspase-1 would activate other caspases in serum-deprived HUVECs. LEHDase activity increased by serum starvation was inhibited by miR-101-3p, but not Ac-YVAD-cho (Figure 8a), whereas DEVDase activity was partially inhibited by both miR-101-3p and Ac-YVAD-cho (Figure 8b), suggesting that caspase-1 stimulates DEVDase activity. We next examined the effect of ASC (an essential component of inflammasome complex) on caspase-7/3-like (DEVDase) activity and cell death using ASC siRNA. ASC knockdown inhibited YVADase and DEVDase activity, but not that of LEHDase, in serum-deprived cells (Figures 8c and d). Because the executioner caspase-7/3 cleave the same substrate Ac-DEVD-pNA used in this study, 27 we further determined which caspases could be activated by caspase-1. Both caspases were activated by serum starvation, whereas only caspase-7 activation was partially inhibited by ASC siRNA and Ac-YVAD-cho ( Figure 8e). As expected, ASC knockdown protected the cells from serum deprivation-induced cell death (Figure 8f). These results suggest that inflammasomemediated caspase-1 activity induces pyroptosis by activating caspase-7, but not caspase-3, in serum-deprived endothelial cells.

Discussion
MiRNA synthesis is a two-step sequential process following RNA pol II/III-dependent transcription of pri-miRNA, with both nuclear and cytoplasmic cleavages to pre-miRNA and mature miRNA by Drosha and Dicer, respectively. 21 In fact, serum deprivation has been shown to induce endothelial cell apoptosis via caspase-3 activation by decreasing Dicer expression, and these unfavorable phenomena were abrogated by Dicer overexpression, 28 indicating that miRNAs are critically involved in serum deprivation-induced apoptosis. Moreover, genetic deletion of Dicer upregulated the proapoptotic target gene Bim, reflecting apoptotic cell death. 22 These data suggest that serum deprivation promotes apoptosis by decreasing Dicer expression, probably due to decreased biogenesis of miRNAs that target apoptosis-associated genes. Here we found that serum withdrawal decreased Dicer expression, thereby leading to increased susceptibility to apoptosis through downregulation of miR-101-3p, which targets the 3′ UTR of Bim mRNA.
The mature miRNA duplex generated by Dicer is loaded into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC, consisting of Dicer, TRBP, and Ago2) and generates a single-stranded mature miRNA by cleaving the passenger strand. Activated RISC binds to the target mRNA through complementary base-pairing between the guide strand and the 3′-UTR of the target, resulting in the cleavage of target mRNA and posttranscriptional gene silencing. 29 Among the components of RISC, Ago2 is critically involved in silencing the target gene. Ago2 is downregulated in serum-deprived HeLa cells, although an exact mechanism has not been elucidated. 30 Similarly, we found that serum withdrawal suppressed Ago2 expression in HUVECs and decreased the expression of the miR-101-3p target gene Bim. Our data also showed that either Dicer or Ago2 knockdown induced apoptosis via increased Bim expression by inhibiting miR-101-3p biogenesis. That is, serum starvation upregulates Bim expression via miR-101-3p downregulation by decreasing Dicer and Ago2 expression.
It was shown that miR-101 can sensitize tumor cells chemotherapeutic drug-induced apoptosis by indirectly upregulating Bim expression in an EZH2-dependent epigenetic control manner. 27 However, we demonstrated that miR-101-3p directly targets the 3′-UTR of Bim mRNA, resulting in increased Bim expression in serum-deprived endothelial cells. It is also possible that miR-101 regulates expression of cell survival genes, such as Mcl-1 and AMPK, by targeting their 3′-UTRs. 31 Figure S7b and c). However, Bim expression was higher than ther other genes in serumdeprived cells (Supplementary Figure S7d − f). This phenomenon may have occurred via the cooperative action of miR-101-3p with other miRNAs or factors that are responded by serum deprivation or Dicer deletion. [33][34][35][36][37] Therefore, further study is needed to understand the interaction between miR-101-3p and Bim expression in serum-derived endothelial cells.
In contrast to the antiapoptotic function of decreased miR-101-3p level in tumor cells, 31,38 its downregulation promoted apoptosis in mouse primary cardiac fibroblasts exposed to hypoxia. 39 Similarly, miR-101 is downregulated in Dicer-knockout mice and increased apoptosis via elevation of Bim expression. 22 Consistent with this finding, our data showed that serum deprivation-induced endothelial apoptosis through downregulation of miR-101-3p, which targets Bim. All of these evidences suggests that miR-101-3p has a distinct cellular function, such as tumor-suppressive (e.g., apoptotic) versus antiapoptotic (survival) activity in tumor cells and normal cardiovascular cells, respectively. There are two possible explanations for this phenomenon. First, miR-101-3p may differently regulate the target gene expression in tumor and normal cells, as shown in a distinct gene expression pattern at the transcriptional level in a cell type (or cell differentiation stage)-specific manner. Another explanation may be related to the characteristics of the miRNA-target gene network that a miRNA targets multiple genes in a sequence-specific, but not gene-specific manner.
Apoptosis is mediated by two central pathways, an extrinsic pathway involving cell surface receptors and an intrinsic pathway using mitochondria. 40 Activation of death receptors by their respective ligands induces sequential intracellular signal events, such as caspase-8 activation, Bid cleavage, mitochondrial cytochrome c release, and caspases-9 activation, resulting in proteolytic cleavage of the executioner caspase-7/3 and subsequent induction of apoptosis. On the other hand, intrinsic death stimuli induce cytochrome c-mediated apoptotic signal cascades, without caspase-8 activation. 41 We observed that serum-deprived HUVECs induced increased mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspases-9/7/3 activation, without caspase-8-mediated cleavage of Bid, suggesting that serum deprivation induces endothelial cell apoptosis via the intrinsic pathway. 42 Moreover, endothelial cell apoptosis induced by serum deprivation was effectively inhibited by a miR-101-3p mimic, but not by a caspase-8 inhibitor. These data indicate that miR-101-3p plays an important mediator role in mitochondria-dependent intrinsic apoptosis in serum-deprived endothelial cells. The intrinsic apoptosis pathway is usually regulated by a balance between proapoptotic and prosurvival Bcl-2 family proteins proteins. Among proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, Bim interacts with prosurvival Bcl-2 members including Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL to allow the release of the BH3-only proapoptotic Bax and Bak proteins from their heterodimeric complexes. 24 The release of these proteins in turn drives the apoptogenic cytochrome c release from the mitochondria, resulting in the activation of caspase-7/3 that execute apoptosis. Alternatively, Bim can directly activate Bax or Bak through interaction with them; thus, Bim is an important component for initiating the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. In accordance with a previous study, 43 we found that Bim plays a central role in apoptosis in response to serum deprivation. Taken in combination with recent findings, it would appear that Bim is an important mediator of mitochondria-dependent endothelial cell apoptosis induced by serum or growth factor deprivation. 25,43 However, the mechanism linked to how Bim expression is regulated in response to serum starvation has not been clearly defined. A recent study showed that serum withdrawal induced endothelial apoptosis by downregulating miR-17-5p, which increases Bim expression by targeting its 3′-UTR. 33,36 In addition, Dicer ablation increases cell death by downregulating miR-20 and miR-302, which inhibit Bim expression by targeting its 3′-UTR, 37 indicating that Bim is upregulated in a miRNA-dependent manner. It suggests that upregulation of Bim in serum-deprived endothelial cells can be cooperatively induced by several miRNAs, including miR-101-3p.
Dicer is downregulated in HUVECs and fibroblasts by serum starvation, and this effect is abolished by angiogenic stimuli, such as vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) or sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), but not basic fibroblast growth factor and lysophosphatidic aid. 28 This suggests that VEGF and S1P are important serum components for maintaining Dicer expression and preventing apoptosis. Indeed, inhibiting VEGF activity induces endothelial cell apoptosis by increasing Bim expression and vice versa. 44 In this study, we demonstrated that serum deprivation increased Bim expression via the downregulated biogenesis of miR-101-3p that targets the 3′-UTR of Bim mRNA, resulting in the increases in Bax activity and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. In addition, miR-101-3p biogenesis was also found to be decreased by downregulation of Dicer in serum-deprived HUVECs, although the regulatory mechanism has not been clarified as yet. Although caspase-3 is a major executive effector of apoptosis, accumulating evidence recognizes caspase-1 as another contributor to non-canonical apoptosis induced by homocysteine, inflammation, and serum deprivation. 11,26,45 Caspase-1 is generally activated by the formation of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex consisting of NLRP3, ASC, and procaspase-1. Although the NLRP3 inflammasome complex is essential for caspase-1-mediated maturation of IL-1β and IL-18, 46 this complex also mediates pyroptosis via caspase-1 activation. 15 Indeed, caspase-1 activation through inflammasome formation plays an important role in homocysteineinduced endothelial dysfunction by inducing pyroptosis and apoptosis, 11 likely by activating caspase-7, but not caspase-3. 26 Similarly, our results showed that caspase-1 activated caspase-7, but not caspase-3, in serum-deprived endothelial cells. NLRP3 inflammasome activity is positively regulated by ROS derived from mitochondria, 12 and the ROS production can be elevated by Bim-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction. 47 We found that decreased miR-101-3p in serumdeprived cells promoted mitochondrial ROS-mediated caspase-1 activation and apoptosis by upregulating Bim expression. However, serum deprivation had no effect on expression and maturation of IL-1β and IL-18, indicating that these cytokines are not involved in serum derivation-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that serum deprivation-induced apoptosis can be mediated by the miR-101-3p/Bim axis, which stimulates two distinct pathways, cytochrome c-mediated caspase-7/3 activation and ROS-dependent caspase-1/7 activation ( Figure 9). Therefore, antioxidants may prevent apoptosis mediated by caspase-1/7, but not caspase-3.
Taken together, our results indicate that miR-101-3p downregulation is a key step in endothelial dysfunction induced by serum or growth factor withdrawal. We also provide evidence that miR-101-3p is an important determinant of endothelial function and vascular homeostasis in pathological conditions, such as trophic factor depletion, implicating miR-101-3p as a therapeutic target in cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis.
Polymerase chain reaction. Cells were cultured in serum-free or 5% FBS-supplemented media containing 50 μM z-VAD-fmk for 16 h, and miRNAs were isolated using a miRNeasy mini kit according to manufacturers' protocols. cDNA for determining miRNAs was synthesized from 1 μg of miRNAs using a miScript II RT kit. Levels of precursor and mature miR-101-3p were determined by qRT-PCR using a miScript SYBR Green PCR kit with miR-101-3p-specific and universal primers (Qiagen) as previously described. 20 Levels of Drosha, Dicer, Ago2, Bim, Mcl-1, AMPK and cytokine mRNAs were determined by HiPi Real-Time PCR 2x Master Mix (SYBR Green+ROX) (Elpis, Daejeon, Korea) with Rotor-Gene Q (Qiagen) using targetspecific primers. The primers used in this study are listed in Supplementary Table S1.
Western blot analysis. Western blot analysis for target proteins in whole-cell lysates and in cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions was performed as previously described. 20 Cell viability assay. Cell viability was evaluated by 3-[4,5-cimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT; Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) assay. Cells were transfected with miR-101-3p mimic or Bim siRNA using Lipofectamine RNAiMAX and cultured for 30 h, followed by incubation with MTT solution (1 mg/ml) for 2 h at 37°C. Cell viability was determined by measuring absorbance at 550 nm using a microplate reader.
TUNEL assay. Cells were transfected with control miRNA (C-miR) or miR-101-3p mimic and cultured in serum-free or 5% FBS-supplemented media for 24 h. Coverslips with adherent cells were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 15 min at room temperature. DNA fragmentation, which indicates apoptosis, was analyzed according to the manufacturer's instructions using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase with peroxide-12-UTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) (Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Indianapolis, IN, USA). Cells were counterstained with DAPI, mounted cell side down on a microscope slide, and analyzed by confocal microscopy. TUNEL-positive cells appeared red. in serum withdrawal-induced apoptosis by targeting Bim. Serum deprivation inhibits miR-101-3p biogenesis by downregulating Dicer and Ago2 expression, leading to increased Bim expression. Bim interacts with Bcl-2 to allow the release of Bax, which drives cytochrome c release and ROS generation from mitochondria. Both events induce intrinsic apoptosis via caspases-9/7/3 activation and inflammasome-mediated caspase-1/7 activation, respectively