Effect of miRNA-218-5p on Proliferation, Migration, Apoptosis and Inflammation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Extracellular Matrix Protein

BACKGROUND: To explore the effects of miRNA-218-5p on inflammation and extracellular matrix proteins of vascular smooth muscle cell line in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). METHODS: miR-218-5p expression was detected with RT-qPCR. The proliferative activity of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) was detected with CCK-8, the migration was detected by Transwell, and the apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry. The expression levels of inflammatory factors (IL-1β and IL-18) were detected by ELISA. The expression levels of proteins (MMP-9 and Netrin-1) and ADAMTS5 were detected by Western blot. The targeting relationship between miR-218-5p and ADAMTS5 was verified with dual-luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: Up-regulating miR-218-5p could significantly inhibit the proliferation and migration of VSMCs and induced the apoptosis (P<0.05). Down-regulating miR-218-5p could significantly promote the proliferation and migration of VSMCs and inhibit the apoptosis (P<0.05). Up-regulating miR-218-5p could inhibit the expression levels of THP-1 cytoinflammatory factors (IL-8 and IL-1β), MMP-9 and netrin-1. ADAMTS5 was the target gene of miR-218-5p. When there were both overexpression of ADAMTS5 and upregulation of miR-218-5p, the upregulation of miR-218-5p could alleviate the effects of overexpression of ADAMTS5 on the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of VSMCs. CONCLUSION: miR-218-5p/ADAMTS-5 molecular axis regulates the proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of VSMCs, as well as the expression of THP-1 cell inflammatory molecules and extracellular matrix molecules.