ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of miR-16-5p and PTPN4 on the apoptosis and autophagy of AC16 cardiomyocytes after hypoxia/reoxygenation treatment. METHODS: AC16 cells were divided into the control group (NC), hypoxia/reoxygenation group (H/R), knockdown miR-16-5p negative control group (NC inhibitor), knockdown miR-16-5p group (miR-16-5p inhibitor), overexpression miR-16-5p negative control group (NC mimics), overexpression miR-16-5p group (miR-16-5p mimics), silent PTPN4 negative control group (sh-NC), silent PTPN4 group (sh-PTPN4), and silent PTPN4 + knockdown miR-16-5p group (sh-PTPN4 + miR-16-5p inhibitor). Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting (WB) were used to measure the expression level of miR-16-3p, miR-16-5p, protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor type 4 (PTPN4), and autophagy-related proteins (beclin-1, LC3 II/I, and P26) in AC16 cells. The apoptosis level of AC16 cells in each group was measured by flow cytometry and TUNEL. The dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment was also used to verify the targeting relationship between miR-16-5p and PTPN4. RESULTS: After H/R treatment, the levels of myocardial injury markers including LDH and CK-MB in AC16 cells were increased significantly (P < 0.05), and the levels of cell apoptosis and autophagy also increased significantly (P < 0.05). The level of miR-16-3p in AC16 cells did not change significantly after H/R treatment, whereas the level of miR-16-5p was increased significantly (P < 0.05). After miR-16-5p was knocked down, the levels of LDH and CK-MB in AC16 cells treated with H/R were significantly reduced (P < 0.05), and the rates of cell apoptosis and autophagy were also significantly reduced (P < 0.05). miR-16-5p negatively regulated the expression level of PTPN4 protein in AC16 cells (P < 0.05), and the dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment confirmed that PTPN4 was the downstream target of miR-16-5p. Silencing of PTPN4 significantly increased the damage of AC16 cells induced by H/R treatment (P < 0.05), but simultaneously inhibiting the expression of PTPN4 and miR-16-5p reversed the protective effect of miR-16-5p knockdown on AC16 cells (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of miR-16-5p is upregulated in AC16 cells after H/R treatment and the knockdown which can protect AC16 cells from H/R-induced cell damage that may be due to its regulation on the expression of PTPN4.