MiR-153 regulates cardiomyocyte apoptosis by targeting Nrf2/HO-1 signaling

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play various roles in the regulation of human disease, including cardiovascular diseases. MiR-153 has been previously shown to be involved in regulating neuron survival during cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, whether miR-153 is involved in I/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis remains to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of miR-153 in the regulation of I/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and to investigate the miR-153-mediated molecular signaling pathway responsible for its effect on cardiomyocytes using an oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) cellular model. We found that OGD/R treatment induced significant upregulation of miR-153 in cardiomyocytes causing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell apoptosis signaling activation and subsequently leading to cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Suppression of miR-153 protected cardiomyocytes against OGD/R treatment. We further identified that nuclear factor-like 2 (Nrf2) is a functional target of miR-153. Nrf2/ heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) signaling plays a critical role in miR-153 regulated OGD/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Our study indicates that the inhibition of miR-153 or restoration of Nrf2 may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for ischemia/reperfusion injury prevention.