MicroRNA-155 regulates angiotensin II type 1 receptor expression and phenotypic differentiation in vascular adventitial fibroblasts

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are genomically encoded small RNAs, negatively regulate target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Our recent study indicated that microRNA-155 (miR-155) might be negatively correlated with blood pressure, and it has been suggested that miR-155-mediated target genes could be involved in the cardiovascular diseases. Bioinformatic analyses predict that angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT(1)R) is a miR-155 target gene. The present study investigated the potential role of miR-155 in regulating AT(1)R expression and phenotypic differentiation in rat aortic adventitial fibroblasts (AFs). Luciferase assay demonstrated that miR-155 suppressed AT(1)R 3'-UTR reporter construct activity. miR-155 overexpression in AFs did not reduce target mRNA levels, but significantly reduced target protein expression. In addition, AFs transfected with pSUPER/miR-155 exhibited reduced Ang II-induced ERK1/2 activation. miR-155 overexpression in cells attenuated Ang II-induced alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA, produces myofibroblast) expression, but did not transform growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta 1). This study demonstrated that miR-155 could have an important role in regulating adventitial fibroblast differentiation and contribute to suppression of AT(1)R expression. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.