MicroRNA-21 plays a role in hypoxia-mediated pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration.

Hypoxia stimulates pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation. Recent studies have implicated an important role for microRNAs (miRNAs) in hypoxia-mediated responses in various cellular processes, including cell proliferation. In this study, we investigated the role of microRNA-21 (miR-21) in hypoxia-induced PASMC proliferation and migration. We first demonstrated that miR-21 expression increased by ∼3-fold in human PASMC after 6 h of hypoxia (3% O₂) and remained high (∼2-fold) after 24 h of hypoxia. Knockdown of miR-21 with anti-miR-21 inhibitors significantly reduced hypoxia-induced cell proliferation, whereas miR-21 overexpression in normoxia enhanced cell proliferation. We also found that miR-21 is essential for hypoxia-induced cell migration. Protein expression of miR-21 target genes, specifically programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4), Sprouty 2 (SPRY2), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα), was decreased in hypoxia and in PASMC overexpressing miR-21 in normoxia and increased in hypoxic cells in which miR-21 was knocked down. In addition, PPARα 3'-untranslated region (UTR) luciferase-based reporter gene assays demonstrated that PPARα is a direct target of miR-21. Taken together, our findings indicate that miR-21 plays a significant role in hypoxia-induced pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration by regulating multiple gene targets.