Frontiers in Pharmacology (Jul 2020)

Stabilization of HIF-1α in Human Retinal Endothelial Cells Modulates Expression of miRNAs and Proangiogenic Growth Factors

  • Francesca Lazzara,
  • Maria Consiglia Trotta,
  • Chiara Bianca Maria Platania,
  • Michele D’Amico,
  • Francesco Petrillo,
  • Marilena Galdiero,
  • Carlo Gesualdo,
  • Settimio Rossi,
  • Filippo Drago,
  • Filippo Drago,
  • Claudio Bucolo,
  • Claudio Bucolo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.01063
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Retinal hypoxia is one of the causative factors of diabetic retinopathy and is also one of the triggers of VEGF release. We hypothesized that specific dysregulated miRNAs in diabetic retinopathy could be linked to hypoxia-induced damage in human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs). We investigated in HRECs the effects of chemical (CoCl2) hypoxia on the expression of HIF-1α, VEGF, PlGF, and of a focused set of miRNAs. We found that miR-20a-5p, miR-20b-5p, miR-27a-3p, miR-27b-3p, miR-206-3p, miR-381-3p correlated also with expression of TGFβ signaling pathway genes in HRECs, challenged with chemical hypoxic stimuli. In conclusion, our data suggest that retinal angiogenesis would be promoted, at least under HIF-1α activation, by upregulation of PlGF and other factors such as miRNAs, VEGFA, and TGFβ1.

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