Silencing MicroRNA-155 Attenuates Cardiac Injury and Dysfunction in Viral Myocarditis via Promotion of M2 Phenotype Polarization of Macrophages

Macrophage infiltration is a hallmark feature of viral myocarditis. As studies have shown that microRNA-155 regulates the differentiation of macrophages, we aimed to investigate the role of microRNA-155 in VM. We report that silencing microRNA-155 protects mice from coxsackievirus B3 induced myocarditis. We found that microRNA-155 expression was upregulated and localized primarily in heart-infiltrating macrophages and CD4(+)T lymphocytes during acute myocarditis. In contrast with wildtype (WT) mice, microRNA-155(-/-) mice developed attenuated viral myocarditis, which was characterized by decreased cardiac inflammation and decreased intracardiac CD45(+) leukocytes. Hearts of microRNA-155(-/-) mice expressed decreased levels of the IFN-alpha and increased levels of the cytokines IL-4 and IL-13. Although total CD4(+) and regulatory T cells were unchanged in miR-155(-/-) spleen proportionally, the activation of T cells and CD4(+) T cell proliferation in miR-155(-/-) mice were significantly decreased. Beyond the acute phase, microRNA-155(-/-) mice had reduced mortality and improved cardiac function during 5 weeks of follow-up. Moreover, silencing microRNA-155 led to increased levels of alternatively-activated macrophages (M2) and decreased levels of classically-activated macrophages (M1) in the heart. Combined, our studies suggest that microRNA-155 confers susceptibility to viral myocarditis by affecting macrophage polarization, and thus may be a potential therapeutic target for viral myocarditis.