LncRNA H19 and miR-138 modulate retinal neovascularization and associated pathological features in hypoxia-induced disease models

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the mechanism of action of the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) H19 to evaluate potential novel therapeutic targets in retinal neovascular diseases. Following establishment of an oxygen-induced mouse retinopathy (OIR) model, we knocked down lncRNA H19 and microRNA (miR)-138 by intravitreal injection of adenovirus and assessed the outcomes of interference and overexpression by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Additionally, we observed vascular lesions of the retina by hematoxylin and eosin staining and retinal paving staining and detected the expression of relevant factors by Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence. Human retinal endothelial cells (HREC) were cultured and hypoxia models constructed using hypoxia-treated cells to explore the in vitro effects of knockdown and overexpression of lncRNA H19 and miR-138 in hypoxia-treated cells by RT-qPCR. Moreover, we assessed cell migration, proliferation, and cell cycle progression, as well as relationships between lncRNA H19, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and miR-138.Our experimental results demonstrated significantly upregulated expression of lncRNA H19 and downregulated miR-138 levels in both oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mouse models and hypoxic human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs). Moreover, lncRNA H19 knockdown and miR-138 overexpression reduced pathological changes in the retina and decreased VEGF and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α levels. Furthermore, luciferase assays demonstrated targeted binding of miR-138 to sites on H19 and HIF1α. These findings indicated that expression of miR-138 can reduce HIF-1α and H19 levels both directly and through competitive adsorption by H19 and thereby participate in regulating retinal neovascularization.