MiR-21 promotes pterygium cell proliferation through the PTEN/AKT pathway

  • Mol Vis. 2018 Jul 23;24:485-494.
Xia Li  1 ,  Yiqin Dai  2 ,  Jianjiang Xu  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Shanghai Medical College, Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
  • 2. Key Laboratory of Myopia of State Health Ministry and Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration of Shanghai, Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
PMID: 30967746
Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the overexpression of miR-21 on the properties of pterygium and examine whether miR-21 promotes the proliferation of pterygium cells through targeting the PTEN/Akt signaling pathway.

Methods: Information regarding patient gender, age, and pterygium severity was gathered. Expression of miR-21 was obtained through examination of excised pterygium tissues and superior conjunctiva tissues with Real-Time PCR. Human pterygium fibroblasts (HPFs) were obtained from pterygium surgery and subjected to primary culture. The HPF cell lines were divided into a negative control group, an miR-21 inhibitor group, and an miR-21 inhibitor + VO-Ohpic trihydrate group, and then the cell viability and Apoptosis and the expression of PTEN and Akt were examined.

Results: Fifty-eight subjects with unilateral primary pterygium were included. An increase in the miR-21 levels in pterygium tissue was evident compared with that in the paired normal conjunctival tissues (independent-samples t test, p<0.01). As the severity of the pterygium increased, the miR-21 levels increased (p=0.004, rs=0.373, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient). The miR-21 inhibitor suppressed the proliferation and induced Apoptosis of HPF cells through increasing the PTEN expression, and further decreasing the expression of p-AKT, which could be reversed by the PTEN inhibitor VO-Ohpic trihydrate.

Conclusions: Aberrant miR-21 overexpression in the pterygium could target PTEN, which contributes to abnormal proliferation of the HPF cells through depressing the PTEN/Akt pathway. The results also suggested the potential of miR-21 and the PTEN/Akt pathway as a novel therapeutic strategy for pterygium.

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