Hypoxia induces microRNA miR-210 in vitro and in vivo ephrin-A3 and neuronal pentraxin 1 are potentially regulated by miR-210.

Shortage of oxygen is one of the prime stress conditions in tissues. In this study, we looked for microRNAs expressed during hypoxia and showed that miR-210 expression was upregulated in response to hypoxia in vitro and in vivo. An active form of the HIF-1alpha induced the expression of miR-210, showing the involvement of the HIF-1 signaling pathway in miR-210 gene transcription. Furthermore, miR-210 was shown to bind to the predicted target sites of ephrin-A3 or neuronal pentraxin 1, causing repression in luciferase reporter activity. Contrary to the microRNA-mediated repression hypothesis, ephrin-A3 was expressed at very high levels in post-ischemic mouse hippocampus in vivo. Thus, the regulatory effects of miR-210 on its targets in vivo need to be further characterized.