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Influences of miR‐21* in the Heart–Kidney Axis
Author(s) -
Ewing Carl,
Ewing Coralis,
Bohan Amy
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2021.35.s1.01929
Subject(s) - microrna , paracrine signalling , kidney , heart failure , biology , transcription factor , reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction , cardiorenal syndrome , exosome , real time polymerase chain reaction , reverse transcriptase , microvesicles , bioinformatics , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , messenger rna , physiology , rna , endocrinology , genetics , receptor , gene
By influencing protein translation, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as powerful regulators of a wide range of biological processes. In recent years, extraordinary progress has been made in terms of identifying the origin and exact functions of miRNAs. An important correlation has recently been made between the role of miRNAs and Cardiorenal Syndrome (CRS). A good candidate for investigating this has been determined to be dogs with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and those with CRS, using plasma samples. We intend to investigate the role of miRNAs in cell‐to‐cell communication by paracrine interactions resulting in these dysfunctions by analyzing levels of the passenger strand miR‐21*. Animals and Procedures We collected blood samples from 9 healthy small breed client‐owned dogs and 9 small breed client‐owned dogs with CHF and CRS, ages 9 years and up. Blood samples were collected from affected dogs before administering medications for the management of CHF and CRS. Isolated microRNAs from plasma were obtained by processing the samples through the reverse transcription process, using Bio‐Rad Lab's Reverse Transcription Kits. The resulting assays were then processed by the CFX Connect qPCR analysis machine, using the real‐time quantitative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) process. This resulted in expression profiles of our samples. Discussion Exosome mediated communication has emerged as an important factor in interactions that lead to Cardiorenal Syndrome. The heart distributes nutrients and oxygen to other organs, including the kidney. The kidney is the major organ responsible for regulating salt and water balance. Impaired cardiac function leads to low cardiac output which lessens the efficiency of the kidney. This renal dysfunction then results in increased fluid retention, which impairs heart function further. miR‐21 is highly expressed in the heart and kidneys and it has been shown that elevated levels of miR‐21 lead to poor outcomes in most primary organ dysfunctions. Cardiac fibroblasts secrete miR‐enriched exosomes, which are subsequently taken up by cardiomyocytes, in which they alter gene expression. In particular, a passenger strand miR, miR‐21*, has been identified as a potent paracrine factor that induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy when shuttled through exosomes.