Down-Regulation of miR-138 Alleviates Inflammatory Response and Promotes Wound Healing in Diabetic Foot Ulcer Rats via Activating PI3K/AKT Pathway and hTERT

OBJECTIVE: To study the role of miR-138 on the repair of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) and further to explore its possible mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: miR-138 inhibitor, IGF-1, LY294002 were used in DFU rat mode, and the mRNA expression of miR-138 was detected. HE staining was used to observe the histological changes of skin ulcer in rats. The level of inflammation, wound healing, and blood vessel formation-related factors were detected by ELISA and immunohistochemical. The expression of VEGF and PI3K/AKT pathway-related proteins were detected by Western blot. To further determine the underlying mechanism of miR-138 in the repair of DFU, telomerase inhibitor BIBR-1232 was used in HUVECs. Dual-luciferase assay was used to determine the target relationship between miR-138 and hTERT. CCK-8, transwell, and tube formation assays were conducted to observe the biological behavior of HUVECs. Inflammatory cytokines and PI3K/AKT pathway-related proteins were also measured by ELISA and Western blot. RESULTS: The mRNA expression of miR-138 in DFU rat was increased and ulcer of diabetic foot rats was improved after silencing miR-138. The results of cellular bioactivity in vitro experiment were consistent with that in vivo. Meanwhile, after silencing miR-138, the level of inflammatory cytokines was decreased, while the level of anti-inflammatory and healing factors was increased in vivo and vitro. Moreover, the ratios of p-PI3K/PI3K and p-AKT/AKT were upregulated after treated with miR-138 inhibitor and miR-138 was negatively regulated the expression of hTERT. However, the inhibitory effect on inflammatory response and the promotion effect on wound healing of miR-138 inhibitor were reversed by LY294002 and BIBR-1232. CONCLUSION: Down-regulation of miR-138 could alleviate inflammatory response and promote wound healing in DFU rats by activating PI3K/AKT pathway and hTERT.