Effects of miR-19b Overexpression on Proliferation, Differentiation, Apoptosis and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway in P19 Cell Model of Cardiac Differentiation In Vitro

MicroRNA (miR)-19b is part of the miR-17–92 cluster associated with cardiac development. Here, we investigated the effects of overexpressing miR-19b on proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the multipotent murine P19 cell line that can be induced to undergo cardiogenesis. P19 cells were transfected with the miR-19b plasmid or empty vector, and miR-19b overexpression was verified by Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR). The miR-19b or vector control stable cell lines were selected using Blasticidin S HCl, and their proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis levels were analyzed using the Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry. P19 cell differentiation markers, apoptosis-related genes (bax, bcl-2), and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related genes were detected by qPCR, the corresponding proteins by Western blot. Expression of the Wnt pathway and differentiation marker proteins was also verified by immunofluorescence. Morphological changes associated with apoptosis were observed by electron microscopy and Hoechst staining. On the basis of these results, we demonstrated that miR-19b overexpression promoted proliferation and differentiation but inhibited apoptosis in P19 cells; Wnt and β-catenin expressions were decreased, while that of GSK3β was increased with miR-19b overexpression. Overexpression of miR-19b inhibited activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in P19 cells, which may regulate cardiomyocyte differentiation. Our findings may bring new insights into the mechanisms underlying cardiac diseases and suggest that miR-19b is a potential new therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases.