ABSTRACT
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a disease associated with high mortality and morbidity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be associated with the pathogenesis of numerous cerebrovascular diseases, including ICH. miR222 has been revealed to play important roles in various physiological and pathological processes in cardiovascular diseases. However, its role in ICH remains largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential effect of miR222 on brain injury in ICH. The results revealed that the expression of miR222 was significantly increased in ICH, and downregulation of miR222 significantly reduced erythrocyte lysateinduced cell apoptosis by decreasing the levels of cleaved caspase3, cleaved caspase9 and Bax and increasing the level of Bcl2. In addition, downregulation of miR222 suppressed the inflammatory responses in erythrocyte lysateinduced microglia, and inhibited inflammation, brain water content and improved neurological functions in ICH mice. Mechanistically, integrin subunit ß8 (ITGB8) was identified as a direct target of negative regulation by miR222 in microglia cells, and upregulation of ITGB8 led to the attenuation of inflammation and apoptosis. Collectively, the present findings indicated that miR222 was a crucial regulator of inflammation via targeting of ITGB8, and represented a promising therapeutic strategy for ICH.