Roles and mechanisms of microRNA-124 in regulating the expression of APLN in epileptic neuron injury / 中风与神经疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

@#ObjectiveTo study the regulatory effect of microRNA-124（miR-124） on the expression of Apelin（APLN） in epileptic neurons and its effect on neuronal injury. Methods Epileptic model of neurons was established by low magnesium extracellular medium. Dual-luciferase reporter gene system was used to verify the regulatory effect of miR-124 on APLN. Quantitative real-time PCR（qRT-PCR） was used to examine mRNA expression of miR-124 and APLN gene. Western blotting was employed to detect the expression of APLN，Bax，Bcl-2，and Caspase 3 proteins. Flow cytometry was utilized to determine the apoptosis of neurons. 〖WTHZ〗Results〖WTBZ〗Although no significant difference was reached，the luciferase activity was lower in miR-124+APLN gene wide-type group than that in control group. Both qRT-PCR and western blotting showed that up-regulation of miR-124 could promote the expression of APLN，and down-regulating miR-124 expression could inhibit APLN mRNA expression. Furthermore，up-regulating miR-124 expression could promote the apoptosis of epileptic neurons. The underlying mechanisms involved up-regulation of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and caspase 3，and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Conclusion The results of this study suggested that miR-124 might positively regulate APLN expression，and miR-124 might lead to neurons deaths by regulating other gene expression other than APLN gene.