Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Downregulated miR-181a alleviates H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence by targeting PDIA6 in human foreskin fibroblasts Study conducted at the Wuhan Third Hospital, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

Background

Oxidative stress is strongly associated with cellular senescence. Numerous studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical part in cellular senescence. MiR-181a was reported to induce cellular senescence, however, the potential mechanism of miR-181a in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced cellular senescence remains obscure.

Objective

The aim of this study is to investigate the role and regulatory mechanism of miR-181a in H2O2-induced cellular senescence.

Methods

Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) transfected with miR-181a inhibitor/miR-NC with or without H2O2 treatment were divided into four groups: control + miR-NC/miR-181a inhibitor, H2O2 + miR-NC/miR-181a inhibitor. CCK-8 assay was utilized to evaluate the viability of HFF. RT-qPCR was used to measure the expression of miR-181a and its target genes. Protein levels of protein disulfide isomerase family A member 6 (PDIA6) and senescence markers were assessed by western blotting. Senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining was applied for detecting SA-β-gal activity. The activities of SOD, GPx, and CAT were detected by corresponding assay kits. The binding relation between PDIA6 and miR-181a was identified by luciferase reporter assay.

Results

MiR-181a inhibition suppressed H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF. PDIA6 was targeted by miR-181a and lowly expressed in H2O2-treated HFF. Knocking down PDIA6 reversed miR-181a inhibition-mediated suppressive impact on H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF.

Study limitations

Signaling pathways that might be mediated by miR-181a/PDIA6 axis were not investigated.

Conclusion

Downregulated miR-181a attenuates H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF by targeting PDIA6.

Keywords
Cellular senescence; Oxidative stress; Protein disulfide-isomerases

Introduction

Cellular senescence is a process comprised of irreversible growth arrest which is regarded as one of the hallmarks of aging.11 Rhinn M, Ritschka B, Keyes WM. Cellular senescence in development, regeneration, and disease. Development. 2019;146:dev151837. Cellular senescence in the skin leads to skin aging which can be induced by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors.22 Toutfaire M, Bauwens E, Debacq-Chainiaux F. The impact of cellular senescence in skin ageing: A notion of mosaic and therapeutic strategies. Biochem Pharmacol. 2017;142:1-12.,33 Regulski MJ. Cellular Senescence: What, Why, and How. Wounds. 2017;29:168-174. Senescent cells can be detected with many hallmarks, such as enhanced activity of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal), elevated levels of tumor suppressor p53, cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p21 and senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30).44 Noren Hooten N, Evans MK. Techniques to Induce and Quantify Cellular Senescence. J Vis Exp. 2017;1:55533.,55 Sikora E, Bielak-Żmijewska A, Mosieniak G. What is and what is not cell senescence. Postepy Biochem. 2018;64:110-8. Numerous studies have indicated that oxidative stress contributes to skin aging and dermal damage.66 Low E, Alimohammadiha G, Smith LA, Costello LF, Przyborski SA, von Zglinicki T, et al. How good is the evidence that cellular senescence causes skin ageing? Ageing Res Rev. 2021;71:101456. Oxidative stress is a physiological process resulting from reactive oxygen (ROS) or nitrogen species, including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2−).77 Tai L, Huang CJ, Choo KB, Cheong SK, Kamarul T. Oxidative Stress Down-Regulates MiR-20b-5p, MiR-106a-5p and E2F1 Expression to Suppress the G1/S Transition of the Cell Cycle in Multipotent Stromal Cells. Int J Med Sci. 2020;17:457-70. The skin has an antioxidative defense system, including the enzymatic antioxidants like superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT), which helps to eliminate excessive ROS.88 Bouayed J, Bohn T. Exogenous antioxidants--Double-edged swords in cellular redox state: Health beneficial effects at physiologic doses versus deleterious effects at high doses. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2010;3:228-37 SOD converts O2− into H2O2, while GPx and CAT convert H2O2 into water.99 Zuo XL, Chen JM, Zhou X, Li XZ, Mei GY. Levels of selenium, zinc, copper, and antioxidant enzyme activity in patients with leukemia. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2006;114:41-53.,1010 Pljesa-Ercegovac M, Mimic-Oka J, Dragicevic D, Savic-Radojevic A, Opacic M, Pljesa S, et al. Altered antioxidant capacity in human renal cell carcinoma: role of glutathione associated enzymes. Urol Oncol. 2008;26: 175-81.

It has been elucidated that microRNAs (miRNAs), endogenous noncoding RNAs of 18-24 nucleotides, are implicated in a variety of biological processes.1111 Kabekkodu SP, Shukla V, Varghese VK, D' Souza J, Chakrabarty S, Satyamoorthy K. Clustered miRNAs and their role in biological functions and diseases. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2018;93:1955-86.,1212 Tan Gana NH, Victoriano AF, Okamoto T. Evaluation of online miRNA resources for biomedical applications. Genes Cells. 2012;17:11-27. MiRNAs can bind to messenger RNA (mRNA) 3’ untranslated regions (3’UTRs) and regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally.1313 Mellis D, Caporali A. MicroRNA-based therapeutics in cardiovascular disease: screening and delivery to the target. Biochem Soc Trans. 2018;46:11-21. Multiple miRNAs have been indicated to play an important role in cellular senescence in the skin. For example, miR-217 facilitates senescence in human skin fibroblasts by binding to DNMT1.1414 Wang B, Du R, Xiao X, Deng ZL, Jian D, Xie HF, et al. Microrna-217 modulates human skin fibroblast senescence by directly targeting DNA methyltransferase 1. Oncotarget. 2017;8:33475-86. MiR-20a-3p is overexpressed in senescent fibroblasts and leads to cellular senescence by targeting HAS2.1515 Röck K, Tigges J, Sass S, Schütze A, Florea AM, Fender AC, et al. miR-23a-3p causes cellular senescence by targeting hyaluronan synthase 2: possible implication for skin aging. J Invest Dermatol. 2015;135:369-77. Importantly, miR-181a was also demonstrated to be involved in cellular senescence. For example, miR-181a is upregulated during the senescence of human dermal fibroblasts which subsequently induces cellular senescence in early-passage cells.1616 Mancini M, Saintigny G, Mahé C, Annicchiarico-Petruzzelli M, Melino G, Candi E. MicroRNA-152 and -181a participate in human dermal fibroblasts senescence acting on cell adhesion and remodeling of the extra-cellular matrix. Aging (Albany NY). 2012;4:843-53. Furthermore, downregulated miR-181a was shown to attenuate oxidative stress in myocardial injury by interacting with XIAP.1717 Zhou Y, Long MY, Chen ZQ, Huang JW, Qin ZB, Li L. Downregulation of miR-181a-5p alleviates oxidative stress and inflammation in coronary microembolization-induced myocardial damage by directly targeting XIAP. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2021;18:426-39. Nevertheless, the potential mechanism of miR-181a in H2O2-induced cellular senescence is unclear.

Protein disulfide isomerase family A member 6 (PDIA6, also known as P5) catalyzes protein folding and displays isomerase and chaperone activities. 1818 Chhabra NF, Amend AL, Bastidas-Ponce A, Sabrautzki S, Tarquis-Medina M, Sachs S, et al. A point mutation in the Pdia6 gene results in loss of pancreatic β-cell identity causing overt diabetes. Mol Metab. 2021;54:101334. Intriguingly, a previous study demonstrated that PDIA6 is downregulated during cellular senescence in BMSCs.1919 Yoo JK, Choi SJ, Kim JK. Expression profiles of subtracted mRNAs during cellular senescence in human mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow. Exp Gerontol. 2013;48:464-71. In addition, PDIA6, localized in mitochondria, was shown to inhibit cell death caused by oxidative stress.2020 Shitara Y, Tonohora Y, Goto T, Yamada Y, Miki T, Makino H, et al. Mitochondrial P5, a member of protein disulphide isomerase family, suppresses oxidative stress-induced cell death. J Biochem. 2012;152:73-85. However, whether PDIA6 exerts an effect on H2O2-induced cellular senescence in human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) is unknown.

In this study, the authors intended to explore the role and mechanism of miR-181a underlying H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF. The results might help to develop a new perspective for ameliorating skin aging.

Materials and methods

Cell culture

HFF obtained from the cell bank of the chinese academy of sciences (Shanghai, China) were incubated in Dulbecco's modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) containing 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco, Grand Island, NY, USA) and 1% sodium pyruvate (Invitrogen) in a humidified incubator with at 37 °C with 5% CO2. After being grown to 80% confluence, cells in the logarithmic phase of growth were inoculated into 96-well plates (104 cells/well) and further cultured for 24 h. Then, the culture medium was removed and replaced with DMEM containing 1% FBS. After 24 h of incubation, 0 or 200 μM H2O2 was added to the medium and maintained for 6 h to establish control HFF or H2O2-induced HFF. All experiments were performed in triplicate.

Cell transfection

MiR-181a inhibitor and miR-NC were purchased from GenePharma (Shanghai, China) and were transfected into HFF (50 nM) for inhibiting miR-181a. Short hairpin RNA specifically targeting PDIA6 (sh-PDIA6), and control sh-NC also purchased from GenePharma were transfected into HFF (2 μg/μL) for downregulating PDIA6. Cell transfection was achieved by lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) following the manufacturer’s recommendations. After 48 h, the transfection efficiency was assessed by RT-qPCR. All experiments were performed in triplicate.

Cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay

After H2O2 treatment and/or indicated transfection, 10 μL of CCK-8 solution (Dojindo, Kumamoto, Japan) was added to the medium, and HFF were cultured at 37 °C for another 2 h. Then, a microplate reader (Molecular Devices, Shanghai, China) was utilized for measuring the absorbance at 450 nm according to the manufacturer’s instructions. All experiments were performed thrice.

Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)

Total RNA was isolated from HFF using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen). Synthesis of cDNA was achieved by reverse transcription of total RNA using PrimeScript™ RT reagent Kit (Takara, Dalian, China). RT-qPCR was implemented using SYBR® Premix Ex Taq™ II (Takara) on a CFX96™ Real-Time System (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). The relative expression levels of miR-181a and its downstream targets were calculated with the 2−ΔΔCt method, with U6 and GAPDH as normalization, respectively. All experiments were performed in triplicate. Primer sequences are listed in Table 1.

Table 1
Primer sequences used for RT-qPCR.

Western blotting

HFF were lysed in RIPA buffer (Cell Signaling, Danvers, MA, USA) and the concentration of proteins was measured by a BCA kit (Bio-Rad). Protein samples (20 μg) were separated by 10% SDS-PAGE gels, transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes (Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA), and blocked with 5% non-fat milk. Afterwards, the membranes were incubated at 4 °C overnight with primary antibodies as follows: anti-p21 (ab109520, 1:1000), anti-p53 (ab32389, 1:10000), anti-SMP30 (ab233007, 1:400), anti-beta-actin (ab115777, 1:200), anti-PDIA6 (ab154820, 1:1000) (all from Abcam, Cambridge, MA, USA) followed by incubation with secondary antibody (ab97080, Abcam) for 1 h at room temperature. Beta-actin was used as a loading control. The proteins were visualized with an ECL system (Bio-Rad) and quantified by ImageJ software (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA). All experiments were performed in triplicate.

SA-β-gal staining

HFF were washed with PBS and fixed in 3% formaldehyde at room temperature for 15 min. After washing with PBS twice, HFF were incubated overnight at 37 °C with β-galactosidase staining reagents (1 mg/mL X-gal, 2 mM MgCl2, 150 mM NaCl, pH 6.0, 5 mM potassium ferrocyanide, 5 mM potassium ferricyanide and 40 nM citric acid/sodium phosphate: Beyotime, Shanghai, China). Eventually, stained HFF were imaged with a light microscope (Nikon, Tokyo, Japan) at 50× magnification, and the percentage of positive cells were analyzed with Image-Pro Plus 6.0 (Media Cybernetics, Silver Spring, MD, USA). All experiments were performed three times.

Detection of SOD, GPx and CAT activities

The activities of SOD, GPx and CAT were measured as previously described.2121 Senevirathne M, Jeon YJ, Kim YT, Park PJ, Jung WK, Ahn CB, et al. Prevention of oxidative stress in Chang liver cells by gallic acid-grafted-chitosans. Carbohydr Polym. 2012;87:876-80. Briefly, one unit of SOD was defined as the amount of enzyme that suppressed 50% of the formazan/min. Xanthine and xanthine oxidase were utilized to produce superoxide anions. The reaction between superoxide anions and tetrasodium chloride formed yellow formazan whose absorption was evaluated at 450 nm. For GPx, enzymatic reactions in tubes containing reduced glutathione, glutathione reductase and NADPH, were initiated by adding cumene hydroperoxide. GPx activity was measured with a wavelength of 340 nm. For CAT activity, one unit of CAT was defined as the amount of enzyme that decomposed 1 M of H2O2/min. The rate of decomposition of H2O2 was assessed at 570 nm. The SOD, GPx and CAT assay kits (Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, Nanjing, China) were used for spectrophotometrically detecting the enzyme activities which were expressed as U/mg of protein. All experiments were performed in triplicate.

Luciferase reporter assay

The complementary binding site of miR-181a on PDIA6 3’UTR was predicted by TargetScan (http://www.targetscan.org/vert_71/). The wild-type or mutant sequences of PDIA6 3’UTR were subcloned into pmirGLO vectors (Promega, Madison, WI, USA) to establishPDIA6-Wt/Mut. Afterward, these vectors were co-transfected into HFF with miR-181a inhibitor or miR-NC using Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen). After 48 h of transfection, the luciferase activity was evaluated by a dual-luciferase reporter kit (Promega), normalized to Renilla luciferase activity. All experiments were performed in triplicate.

Statistical analysis

SPSS 18.0 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) was utilized for statistical analysis. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. Differences between two groups were analyzed by Student’s t-test while those among more than two groups were assessed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s post-hoc analysis. Each experiment was repeated at least three times. The value of p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

Downregulation of miR-181a mitigates H2O2-induced cellular senescence and oxidative stress

First, the authors detected miR-181a levels in HFF by RT-qPCR. Relative to the control group, miR-181a level was increased in H2O2-treated HFF and was reduced after transfection of miR-181a inhibitor (Fig. 1A). Next, the impact of miR-181a on the viability of HFF was assessed. As revealed by CCK-8 assay, H2O2 treatment markedly reduced the viability of HFF, while miR-181a depletion attenuated this effect (Fig. 1B), suggesting that downregulated miR-181a might protect HFF against H2O2-induced cell damage. Moreover, detection of SA-β-gal activity displayed that miR-181a inhibition led to a reduction in the H2O2-induced increased percentage of SA-β-gal positive cells (Fig. 1C). A similar trend was observed in the results of western blotting. Protein levels of senescence markers (p21, p53 and SMP30) were significantly raised by H2O2 treatment in HFF compared to the control groups and were then decreased by miR-181a inhibitor (Fig. 1D‒G). The above results indicated that downregulated miR-181a alleviates H2O2-induced cellular senescence in HFF. Subsequently, the authors tested whether miR-181a had an impact on H2O2-induced oxidative stress. As shown by Figure 1 H‒J, H2O2 treatment markedly elevated the activity of SOD, GPx, and CAT, which was partially reversed after the downregulation of miR-181a in HFF. The results suggested that the antioxidant enzymes actively respond to oxidative stress and miR-181a inhibition can relieve H2O2-induced oxidative stress.

Figure 1
MiR-181a depletion mitigates H2O2-induced cellular senescence and oxidative stress. Assays were conducted in HFF with different treatments (with or without H2O2; transfection of miR-NC or miR-181a inhibitor). (A) RT-qPCR analysis of miR-181a level. (B) CCK-8 assay for evaluating cell viability. (C) SA-β-gal staining for assessing SA-β-gal activity. Cell pictures were imaged at 50× magnification. (D‒G) Western blotting for measuring protein levels of senescence markers. (H‒J) Measurement of the activities of SOD, GPx and CAT in HFF. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

MiR-181a targets PDIA6

As shown in Figure 2A, four downstream targets of miR-181a were screened out by ENCORI (https://starbase.sysu.edu.cn/) with the condition of a number of supported AGO CLIP-seq experiments (AgoExpNum) ≥40. Results from RT-qPCR showed that after inhibiting miR-181a in HFF, only the PDIA6 level was significantly enhanced (Fig. 2B). Likewise, western blotting displayed that miR-181a inhibitor increased the protein level of PDIA6 in HFF (Fig. 2C). The existence of putative complementary site between miR-181a and PDIA6 was predicted by TargetScan (Fig. 2D). Moreover, the luciferase activity of PDIA6-Wt was upregulated in HFF after transfection of miR-181a inhibitor, while that of PDIA6-Mut was not significantly influenced, as shown by luciferase reporter assay (Fig. 2E). Notably, RT-qPCR and western blotting demonstrated that mRNA and protein expression of PDIA6 was markedly downregulated in H2O2-treated HFF compared with the control group (Fig. 2F‒H). Collectively, PDIA6 is a target for miR-181a in HFF.

Figure 2
MiR-181a binds with PDIA6. (A) Four downstream targets of miR-181a predicted by ENCORI. (B) RT-qPCR analysis for assessing these mRNA levels in HFF transfected with miR-181a inhibitor. (C) Western blotting of PDIA6 protein expression in miR-181a inhibitor-transfected HFF. (D) The binding site of miR-181a on PDIA6 3’UTR predicted by TargetScan. (E) Luciferase reporter assay for elucidating the binding relation between PDIA6 and miR-181a. (F) RT-qPCR analysis of PDIA6 level in H2O2-treated HFF. G-H. Western blotting of PDIA6 protein level in H2O2-treated HFF and control group. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

PDIA6 knockdown reverses miR-181a inhibition-mediated suppressive impact on cellular senescence and oxidative stress

To investigate the impact of PDIA6 on cellular senescence in HFF, the authors first transfected sh-PDIA6 into HFF. The mRNA and protein expression levels of PDIA6 were decreased in HFF transfected with sh-PDIA6, as displayed by RT-qPCR and western blotting, respectively (Fig. 3A‒C). CCK-8 assay revealed that miR-181a inhibitor promoted the viability of HFF while co-transfection of sh-PDIA6 attenuated this effect (Fig. 3D). Additionally, results from SA-β-gal staining displayed that depletion of miR-181a significantly reduced the percentage of SA-β-gal positive cells, which was partially reversed by knocking down miR-181a and PDIA6 simultaneously (Fig. 3E‒F). This was consistent with western blotting which showed that knocking down PDIA6 rescued the reduction in senescence marker protein levels caused by miR-181a inhibitor in HFF (Fig. 3G‒J). Hence, it was suggested by the above results that downregulated miR-181a alleviates H2O2-mediated cellular senescence by targeting PDIA6.

Figure 3
PDIA6 knockdown reverses miR-181a inhibitor-mediated suppressive impact on cellular senescence and oxidative stress. (A) RT-qPCR analysis of PDIA6 expression in sh-PDIA6-transfected HFF. (B‒C) Western blotting of PDIA6 protein expression in transfected HFF. (D) CCK-8 assay for evaluating the viability of HFF with transfection of miR-181a inhibitor, miR-181a inhibitor + sh-PDIA6 or miR-NC. (E‒F) SA-β-gal staining for assessing the percentage of SA-β-gal positive cells of HFF with above transfection. Cell pictures were imaged at 50× magnification. (G‒J) Western blotting for detecting concentration of senescence markers in HFF with above transfection. (K‒M) Measurement of the activities of SOD, GPx and CAT in HFF transfected with miR-181a inhibitor, miR-181a inhibitor + sh-PDIA6 or miR-NC. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Then, the authors tested whether miR-181a exerted its influence on oxidative stress by regulating PDIA6. As exhibited by the results, knocking down PDIA6 alleviated the suppressive effect on SOD, GPx and CAT activities in HFF resulting from miR-181a inhibitor (Fig. 3K‒M). This revealed that downregulated miR-181a alleviates H2O2-induced oxidative stress by targeting PDIA6.

Discussion

The damage resulting from decreased antioxidant ability and imbalance of the oxidative system is termed oxidative stress.2222 Sies H. Oxidative stress: oxidants and antioxidants. Exp Physiol. 1997;82:291-5. Emerging evidence has suggested that oxidative stress in the skin is a key cause of cellular senescence, consequently leading to skin aging.2323 Li BS, Zhu RZ, Choi BM. 6,4'-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone protects against H(2)O(2)-induced cellular senescence by inducing SIRT1 and inhibiting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway activation. Mol Cell Biochem. 2021;476: 863-72.,2424 Gu Y, Han J, Jiang C, Zhang Y. Biomarkers, oxidative stress and autophagy in skin aging. Ageing Res Rev. 2020;59:101036. Previous studies have elucidated that aging and ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure are strongly correlated with the high risk of skin cancer.2525 Kemp MG, Spandau DF, Travers JB. Impact of Age and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 on DNA Damage Responses in UV-Irradiated Human Skin. Molecules. 2017;22:356.,2626 Spandau DF, Chen R, Wargo JJ, Rohan CA, Southern D, Zhang A, et al. Randomized controlled trial of fractionated laser resurfacing on aged skin as prophylaxis against actinic neoplasia. J Clin Invest. 2021;131:e150972. It is suggested that an increased presence of senescent fibroblasts in geriatric skin causes the silencing of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) expression in the skin.2727 Lewis DA, Travers JB, Somani AK, Spandau DF. The IGF-1/IGF-1R signaling axis in the skin: a new role for the dermis in aging-associated skin cancer. Oncogene. 2010;29:1475-85. The silencing of IGF-1 in senescent fibroblasts results in an inappropriate UVB-response and the proliferation of keratinocytes containing DNA damage, which ultimately leads to photocarcinogenesis.2626 Spandau DF, Chen R, Wargo JJ, Rohan CA, Southern D, Zhang A, et al. Randomized controlled trial of fractionated laser resurfacing on aged skin as prophylaxis against actinic neoplasia. J Clin Invest. 2021;131:e150972. Hence, finding an effective approach to alleviate cellular senescence might help to reduce skin carcinogenic risk.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the significant effects of miRNAs involved in oxidative stress and cellular senescence, such as miR-1445-5p, miR-570, and miR-93-5p.2828 Li Y, Gao M, Yin LH, Xu LN, Qi Y, Sun P, et al. Dioscin ameliorates methotrexate-induced liver and kidney damages via adjusting miRNA-145-5p-mediated oxidative stress. Free Radic Biol Med. 2021;169:99-109.

29 Baker JR, Vuppusetty C, Colley T, Hassibi S, Fenwick PS, Donnelly LE, et al. MicroRNA-570 is a novel regulator of cellular senescence and inflammaging. Faseb j. 2019;33:1605-16.
-3030 Choi JY, Shin HJ, Bae IH. miR-93-5p suppresses cellular senescence by directly targeting Bcl-w and p21. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2018;505:1134-40. Previous studies have verified that miR-181a plays a crucial role in cellular senescence.3131 Staszel T, Zapała B, Polus A, Sadakierska-Chudy A, Kieć-Wilk B, Stępień E, et al. Role of microRNAs in endothelial cell pathophysiology. Pol Arch Med Wewn. 2011;121:361-6. MiR-181a was reported to exhibit elevated expression in keratinocytes during replicative senescence, suggesting that overexpressed miR-181a might play a promotive role in cellular senescence.3232 Gerasymchuk M, Cherkasova V, Kovalchuk O, Kovalchuk I. The Role of microRNAs in Organismal and Skin Aging. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21:5281. In this study, the authors examined the role of miR-181a in H2O2-treated HFF. Senescent cells are characterized by cell growth arrest and abnormal gene expression.3333 Muller M. Cellular senescence: molecular mechanisms, in vivo significance, and redox considerations. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2009;11:59-98. Thus, the role of miR-181a in H2O2-treated HFF was identified by detecting its influences on cell viability, SA-β-gal staining, and expression levels of senescence markers. It was revealed that downregulated miR-181a could enhance cell viability and suppress cellular senescence caused by H2O2 in HFF. Furthermore, to detect the impact of miR-181a on H2O2-induced oxidative stress, the authors assessed the activities of the antioxidants (SOD, GPx and CAT) which are key regulators in the oxidative system. It was found that miR-181a inhibition significantly decreased the antioxidant abilities in H2O2-treated HFF, indicating that knocking down miR-181a is able to suppress oxidative stress induced by H2O2.

MiRNAs are recognized to modulate the expression of downstream targets by base-pairing to the sequences of mRNA 3’UTRs.3434 Chen X, Zhang H, Ou S, Chen H. Von Hippel-Lindau gene single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1642742) may be related to the occurrence and metastasis of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Medicine (Baltimore). 2021;100:e27187. To figure out how miR-181a exerts its influences on oxidative stress and cellular senescence, the bioinformatics tool ENCORI was utilized for screening the downstream targets of miR-181a. Among the selected mRNAs, the authors finally identified PDIA6 as the target gene of miR-181a. PDIA6, a member of the disulfide isomerase family, is implicated in various human diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, liver fibrosis, and various cancers.3535 Liu GM, Zeng HD, Zhang CY, Xu JW. Key genes associated with diabetes mellitus and hepatocellular carcinoma. Pathol Res Pract. 2019;215:152510.,3636 Zhong Y, Sun XX, Zhang P, Qin X, Chen W, Guo Y, et al. Identification and localization of xylose-binding proteins as potential biomarkers for liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. Mol Biosyst. 2016;12:598-605. Additionally, a previous study suggested that PDIA6 is closely related to cellular senescence in human BMSCs.1919 Yoo JK, Choi SJ, Kim JK. Expression profiles of subtracted mRNAs during cellular senescence in human mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow. Exp Gerontol. 2013;48:464-71. In the present study, PDIA6 exhibited decreased expression in H2O2-treated HFF in comparison to the control group. Intriguingly, miR-181a inhibition alleviated H2O2- induced oxidative stress in HFF and cellular senescence, and knocking down PDIA6 reversed the inhibitory impact on cellular senescence and oxidative stress mediated by downregulated miR-181a. This suggested that silencing miR-181a mitigated H2O2-induced cellular senescence and oxidative stress by targeting PDIA6, and PDIA6 might protect HFF from cellular senescence induced by H2O2.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the potential role and mechanism of miR-181a in regulating H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF were investigated. The results revealed that downregulated miR-181a can ameliorate H2O2-induced oxidative stress and cellular senescence in HFF by regulating PDIA6. The present findings might help to develop a new perspective for improving skin aging and senescence-associated disorders.

  • Financial support
    The study was supported by the Medical Science Research Project of the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission (grant nº WX20Q03).
  • Study conducted at the Wuhan Third Hospital, Wuhan, China.

References

  • 1
    Rhinn M, Ritschka B, Keyes WM. Cellular senescence in development, regeneration, and disease. Development. 2019;146:dev151837.
  • 2
    Toutfaire M, Bauwens E, Debacq-Chainiaux F. The impact of cellular senescence in skin ageing: A notion of mosaic and therapeutic strategies. Biochem Pharmacol. 2017;142:1-12.
  • 3
    Regulski MJ. Cellular Senescence: What, Why, and How. Wounds. 2017;29:168-174.
  • 4
    Noren Hooten N, Evans MK. Techniques to Induce and Quantify Cellular Senescence. J Vis Exp. 2017;1:55533.
  • 5
    Sikora E, Bielak-Żmijewska A, Mosieniak G. What is and what is not cell senescence. Postepy Biochem. 2018;64:110-8.
  • 6
    Low E, Alimohammadiha G, Smith LA, Costello LF, Przyborski SA, von Zglinicki T, et al. How good is the evidence that cellular senescence causes skin ageing? Ageing Res Rev. 2021;71:101456.
  • 7
    Tai L, Huang CJ, Choo KB, Cheong SK, Kamarul T. Oxidative Stress Down-Regulates MiR-20b-5p, MiR-106a-5p and E2F1 Expression to Suppress the G1/S Transition of the Cell Cycle in Multipotent Stromal Cells. Int J Med Sci. 2020;17:457-70.
  • 8
    Bouayed J, Bohn T. Exogenous antioxidants--Double-edged swords in cellular redox state: Health beneficial effects at physiologic doses versus deleterious effects at high doses. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2010;3:228-37
  • 9
    Zuo XL, Chen JM, Zhou X, Li XZ, Mei GY. Levels of selenium, zinc, copper, and antioxidant enzyme activity in patients with leukemia. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2006;114:41-53.
  • 10
    Pljesa-Ercegovac M, Mimic-Oka J, Dragicevic D, Savic-Radojevic A, Opacic M, Pljesa S, et al. Altered antioxidant capacity in human renal cell carcinoma: role of glutathione associated enzymes. Urol Oncol. 2008;26: 175-81.
  • 11
    Kabekkodu SP, Shukla V, Varghese VK, D' Souza J, Chakrabarty S, Satyamoorthy K. Clustered miRNAs and their role in biological functions and diseases. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2018;93:1955-86.
  • 12
    Tan Gana NH, Victoriano AF, Okamoto T. Evaluation of online miRNA resources for biomedical applications. Genes Cells. 2012;17:11-27.
  • 13
    Mellis D, Caporali A. MicroRNA-based therapeutics in cardiovascular disease: screening and delivery to the target. Biochem Soc Trans. 2018;46:11-21.
  • 14
    Wang B, Du R, Xiao X, Deng ZL, Jian D, Xie HF, et al. Microrna-217 modulates human skin fibroblast senescence by directly targeting DNA methyltransferase 1. Oncotarget. 2017;8:33475-86.
  • 15
    Röck K, Tigges J, Sass S, Schütze A, Florea AM, Fender AC, et al. miR-23a-3p causes cellular senescence by targeting hyaluronan synthase 2: possible implication for skin aging. J Invest Dermatol. 2015;135:369-77.
  • 16
    Mancini M, Saintigny G, Mahé C, Annicchiarico-Petruzzelli M, Melino G, Candi E. MicroRNA-152 and -181a participate in human dermal fibroblasts senescence acting on cell adhesion and remodeling of the extra-cellular matrix. Aging (Albany NY). 2012;4:843-53.
  • 17
    Zhou Y, Long MY, Chen ZQ, Huang JW, Qin ZB, Li L. Downregulation of miR-181a-5p alleviates oxidative stress and inflammation in coronary microembolization-induced myocardial damage by directly targeting XIAP. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2021;18:426-39.
  • 18
    Chhabra NF, Amend AL, Bastidas-Ponce A, Sabrautzki S, Tarquis-Medina M, Sachs S, et al. A point mutation in the Pdia6 gene results in loss of pancreatic β-cell identity causing overt diabetes. Mol Metab. 2021;54:101334.
  • 19
    Yoo JK, Choi SJ, Kim JK. Expression profiles of subtracted mRNAs during cellular senescence in human mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow. Exp Gerontol. 2013;48:464-71.
  • 20
    Shitara Y, Tonohora Y, Goto T, Yamada Y, Miki T, Makino H, et al. Mitochondrial P5, a member of protein disulphide isomerase family, suppresses oxidative stress-induced cell death. J Biochem. 2012;152:73-85.
  • 21
    Senevirathne M, Jeon YJ, Kim YT, Park PJ, Jung WK, Ahn CB, et al. Prevention of oxidative stress in Chang liver cells by gallic acid-grafted-chitosans. Carbohydr Polym. 2012;87:876-80.
  • 22
    Sies H. Oxidative stress: oxidants and antioxidants. Exp Physiol. 1997;82:291-5.
  • 23
    Li BS, Zhu RZ, Choi BM. 6,4'-dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone protects against H(2)O(2)-induced cellular senescence by inducing SIRT1 and inhibiting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway activation. Mol Cell Biochem. 2021;476: 863-72.
  • 24
    Gu Y, Han J, Jiang C, Zhang Y. Biomarkers, oxidative stress and autophagy in skin aging. Ageing Res Rev. 2020;59:101036.
  • 25
    Kemp MG, Spandau DF, Travers JB. Impact of Age and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 on DNA Damage Responses in UV-Irradiated Human Skin. Molecules. 2017;22:356.
  • 26
    Spandau DF, Chen R, Wargo JJ, Rohan CA, Southern D, Zhang A, et al. Randomized controlled trial of fractionated laser resurfacing on aged skin as prophylaxis against actinic neoplasia. J Clin Invest. 2021;131:e150972.
  • 27
    Lewis DA, Travers JB, Somani AK, Spandau DF. The IGF-1/IGF-1R signaling axis in the skin: a new role for the dermis in aging-associated skin cancer. Oncogene. 2010;29:1475-85.
  • 28
    Li Y, Gao M, Yin LH, Xu LN, Qi Y, Sun P, et al. Dioscin ameliorates methotrexate-induced liver and kidney damages via adjusting miRNA-145-5p-mediated oxidative stress. Free Radic Biol Med. 2021;169:99-109.
  • 29
    Baker JR, Vuppusetty C, Colley T, Hassibi S, Fenwick PS, Donnelly LE, et al. MicroRNA-570 is a novel regulator of cellular senescence and inflammaging. Faseb j. 2019;33:1605-16.
  • 30
    Choi JY, Shin HJ, Bae IH. miR-93-5p suppresses cellular senescence by directly targeting Bcl-w and p21. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2018;505:1134-40.
  • 31
    Staszel T, Zapała B, Polus A, Sadakierska-Chudy A, Kieć-Wilk B, Stępień E, et al. Role of microRNAs in endothelial cell pathophysiology. Pol Arch Med Wewn. 2011;121:361-6.
  • 32
    Gerasymchuk M, Cherkasova V, Kovalchuk O, Kovalchuk I. The Role of microRNAs in Organismal and Skin Aging. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21:5281.
  • 33
    Muller M. Cellular senescence: molecular mechanisms, in vivo significance, and redox considerations. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2009;11:59-98.
  • 34
    Chen X, Zhang H, Ou S, Chen H. Von Hippel-Lindau gene single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1642742) may be related to the occurrence and metastasis of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Medicine (Baltimore). 2021;100:e27187.
  • 35
    Liu GM, Zeng HD, Zhang CY, Xu JW. Key genes associated with diabetes mellitus and hepatocellular carcinoma. Pathol Res Pract. 2019;215:152510.
  • 36
    Zhong Y, Sun XX, Zhang P, Qin X, Chen W, Guo Y, et al. Identification and localization of xylose-binding proteins as potential biomarkers for liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. Mol Biosyst. 2016;12:598-605.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    03 Apr 2023
  • Date of issue
    Jan-Feb 2023

History

  • Received
    26 Oct 2021
  • Accepted
    3 Dec 2021
  • Published
    14 Oct 2022
Sociedade Brasileira de Dermatologia Av. Rio Branco, 39 18. and., 20090-003 Rio de Janeiro RJ, Tel./Fax: +55 21 2253-6747 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
E-mail: revista@sbd.org.br