Identification and Characterization of MicroRNAs in Acrolein-Stimulated Endothelial Cells: Implications for Vascular Disease

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the regulation of physiological and pathophysiological processes such as vascular disease. Analysis of miRNA expression profiles in vascular disease provides new insights into the possible mechanisms underlying and therapeutic targets of disease. Acrolein is a highly reactive component of cigarette smoke, which has been implicated in the development of vascular disease. In this study, we investigated whether miRNAs play a role in the modulation of various gene expression responses to acrolein in human endothelial cells. We analyzed whole-genome miRNA and mRNA expression and found that acrolein induced differential expression of 151 miRNAs in endothelial cells. We further classified a number of target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs, miR-342-3p and 422a were upregulated, and the expression levels demonstrated a high inverse correlation with their targets, the vascular disease-related genes CLDN1 and PON1. Thus, integrating specific patterns of miRNA and mRNA levels may improve the diagnosis of vascular diseases induced by exposure to environmental pollutants such as acrolein.