miR-124a inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion of rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibro-blasts by tar-geting AKT2 gene / 中华风湿病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate the effects of miR-124a on proliferation, migration and invasion in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) and the underlying mechanisms.@*Methods@#RASFs were isolated and cultured from synovial tissue, then qRT-PCR was used to detect the levels of AKT2 mRNA and miR-124a in RASFs. Western blot was applied to determin the expression level of AKT2 protein. RASFs were transfected with miR-124a, anti-miR-124a, si-AKT2 or pcDNA-AKT2 to up-regulate or down-regulate the expression level of miR-124a or AKT2 protein. The cells were divided into normal group of normal synovial tissue, control NC group, miR-con group, miR-124a group, si-con group, si-AKT2 group, miR-124a+pcDNA group and miR-124a+pcDNA-AKT2 group. MTT assay was carried out to measure the proliferation of RASFs. Transwell assay was carried out to detect the migration and invasion cell number of RASFs. Dual-luciferase reporter assay system was implemented to verify the relationship between miR-124a and AKT2. Independent sample t-test and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test (square deviation) were used for statistical analysis.@*Results@#① Compared with normal group, the expression of miR-124a (0.92±0.19) decreased significantly (t=5.788, P<0.01), AKT2 mRNA (3.15±0.63) increased significantly (t=-3.486, P=0.025), AKT2 protein (2.09±0.64) increased significantly (t=-2.959, P=0.042). ② Ccompared with NC group and miR-con group, miR-124a expression (4.17±0.46) increased significantly (F=131.830, P<0.01), migration cell number (34±6) decreased significantly, invasion cell number (14.5±3.1) decreased significantly (F1=35.788, F2=27.211, P<0.01). ③ Compared with mir-con group (1.02±0.18), WT-AKT2 in miR-124a group showed a significant decrease in its relative activity (0.31±0.11) (t=5.830, P<0.01). ④ Compared with NC group and si-con group, the expression of AKT2 protein (0.97±0.03) in si-AKT2 group decreased significantly (F=128.056, P<0.01), the number of migrating cells (32±4), and the number of invasive cells (18.6±2.2) (F1=-70.082, F2=36.524, P<0.01) were decreased significantly. ⑤ Compared with miR-con group, AKT2 protein expression in miR-124a group decreased significantly (0.21±0.03); compared with miR-124a+pcDNA group, AKT2 protein expression in miR-124a+pcDNA-AKT2 group was increased significantly (F=52.487, P<0.01). ⑥ Compared with miR-con group, the number of RASFs migrating cells (30±5) and invasive cells (12.5±1.8) in miR-124a group were significantly decreased; compared with miR-124a+pcDNA group, the number of RASFs migrating cells (71±4) and invasive cells (26.4±4.5) in miR-124a+pcDNA-AKT2 group were significantly increased (F1=30.957, F2=49.960, P<0.01).@*Conclusion@#MiR-124a can inhibite the proliferation, migration and invasion of RASFs by targeting AKT2 gene. MiR-124a is expected as a molecular target for diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.