Anti-asthmatic miR-224-5p inhibits the FHL1/MAPK pathway to repress airway smooth muscle cell proliferation in a murine model of asthma-like airway inflammation

BACKGROUND: The proliferation of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) contributes to the contractility and inflammation in the pathophysiology of asthma. This intrigued us to clarify the effect of microRNA (miR)-224-5p on biological characteristics of ASMCs in mice with asthma-like airway inflammation and responses through the FHL1-dependent MAPK pathway. METHODS: An ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma mouse model was established, where ASMCs were isolated. The expression of FHL1 was determined in asthmatic mice. Artificial modulation of FHL1 expression was performed to explore its effect on airway inflammation of asthmatic mice and ASMC proliferation and apoptosis. Afterwards, we analyzed the interaction among miR-224-5p, FHL1 and the MAPK pathway, and explored their combined impacts on airway inflammation of asthmatic mice and ASMC proliferation and apoptosis. RESULTS: FHL1 was highly expressed and miR-224-5p was poorly expressed in asthmatic mice. FHL1 was verified to be a target of miR-224-5p. Loss of FHL1 function reduced airway inflammation in asthmatic mice and proliferation of ASMCs while inducing their apoptosis. Besides, miR-224-5p inhibited the MAPK pathway by binding to FHL1. Overexpression of miR-224-5p relieved airway inflammation, inhibited ASMC proliferation, and increased apoptosis, which could be reversed by overexpression of FHL1. CONCLUSION: Altogether, miR-224-5p inhibited airway inflammation in asthmatic mice and ASMC proliferation through blocking the MAPK pathway by down-regulating FHL1. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13223-022-00724-9.