MiR-124-3p inhibits PDGF-BB-induced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration through targeting STAT3

Aberrant vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) proliferation and migration contribute significantly to the development of vascular pathologies, such as atherosclerosis. MicroRNAs (miR) have been reported to act as important gene regulators and play essential roles in the proliferation and migration of VSMCs in a cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miR-124-3p in VSMCs. In the present study, we showed that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB, as a stimulant, promoted VSMCs proliferation and suppressed the expression of miR-124-3p. Moreover, overexpression of miR-124-3p inhibited proliferation and also suppressed the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in PDGF-BB-induced VSMCs. In addition, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of miR-124-3p repressed the VSMCs migration. Furthermore, dual-luciferase assays identified that STAT3 is a direct target gene of miR-124-3p in VSMCs, and overexpression of miR-124-3p significantly downregulated the mRNA and protein levels of STAT3. In addition, restored the expression of STAT3 in VSMCs could partially abolish the suppressive effects of miR-124-3p on the proliferation and migration. Collectively, these data suggest that miR-124-3p is a key molecule in regulating human VSMCs proliferation and migration by targeting STAT3 and suggest that specific modulation of miR-124-3p in human VSMCs may represent an attractive approach for the treatment of proliferative vascular diseases.