Inhibitory Effects of Low Decibel Infrasound on the Cardiac Fibroblasts and the Involved Mechanism

INTRODUCTION: Infrasound is a mechanical vibration wave with frequency between 0.0001 and 20 Hz. It has been established that infrasound of 120 dB or stronger is dangerous to humans. However, the biological effects of low decibel infrasound are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of low decibel infrasound on the cardiac fibroblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cardiac fibroblasts were isolated and cultured from Sprague–Dawley rats. The cultured cells were assigned into the following four groups: control group, angiotensin II (Ang II) group, infrasound group, and Ang II+infrasound group. The cell proliferation and collagen synthesis rates were evaluated by means of [(3)H]-thymidine and [(3)H]-proline incorporation, respectively. The levels of TGF-β were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Moreover, RNAi approaches were used for the analysis of the biological functions of miR-29a, and the phosphorylation status of Smad3 was detected using western blotting analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that low decibel infrasound significantly alleviated Ang II-induced enhancement of cell proliferation and collagen synthesis. DISCUSSION: Compared with the control, Ang II markedly decreased the expression of miR-29a levels and increased the secretion of TGF-β and phosphorylation of Smad3, which was partly reversed by the treatment with low decibel infrasound. Importantly, knockdown of miR-29a diminished the effects of infrasound on the cardiac fibroblasts. In conclusion, low decibel infrasound inhibits Ang II-stimulated cardiac fibroblasts via miR-29a targeting TGF-β/Smad3 signaling.