Effect of miR‑144‑5p on the proliferation, migration, invasion 
and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells by targeting RICTOR and its related mechanisms

Fu,Wei; Liu,Zidong; Zhang,Jing; Shi,Yuxue; Zhao,Ruiyao; Zhao,Heng

doi:10.3892/etm.2019.8369

Effect of miR‑144‑5p on the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells by targeting RICTOR and its related mechanisms

Authors:
- Wei Fu
- Zidong Liu
- Jing Zhang
- Yuxue Shi
- Ruiyao Zhao
- Heng Zhao
View Affiliations

Affiliations: Department of Cardiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121000, P.R. China
Published online on: December 23, 2019 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2019.8369
Pages: 1817-1823
Copyright: © Fu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of microRNA (miR)‑144‑5p on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to explore the role of miR‑144‑5p in atherosclerosis. miR‑144‑5p expression was upregulated in HUVECs using miR‑144‑5p mimics. The relative expression level of miR‑144‑5p in HUVECs was detected using reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR (RT‑qPCR). Cell proliferation was detected by performing an MTT assay. Apoptosis was determined via flow cytometry. Cell migration ability was detected by a wound‑healing assay. Cell invasion was determined by a transwell assay. The protein levels of phosphorylated (p)‑PI3K, p‑Akt and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were detected using western blot analysis. The binding sites between miR‑144‑5p and 3'‑untranslated region of rapamycin‑insensitive companion of mTOR (RICTOR) mRNA were predicted by TargetScan and confirmed by a dual luciferase reporter assay. The present study showed that miR‑144‑5p mimics significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in HUVECs. In addition, miR‑144‑5p mimics could suppress migration and invasion of HUVECs. Further analysis identified that RICTOR was a direct target gene of miR‑144‑5p. Moreover, miR‑144‑5p upregulation decreased the protein level of p‑PI3K, p‑Akt and eNOS. In conclusion, miR‑144‑5p regulated HUVEC proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis through affecting the PI3K‑Akt‑eNOS signaling pathway by altering the expression of RICTOR. These results indicated that miR‑144‑5p may be a potential target for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

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