Objectives: To observe the role of miR-139-5p and Notch1 signaling pathway in regulation of homing of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) of asthmatic rats.
Methods: Normal rat BMSCs were co-cultured with bronchial epithelial cells from normal or asthmatic rats, followed by transfection with miR-139-5p mimics or a negative control sequence. The changes in cell viability and cell cycle were analyzed, and the cellular expressions of CXCR4 and SDF-1 were detected using immunofluorescence staining. The changes of BMSC homing after the transfection were observed, and the expressions of Notch1, RBP-J, and Hes1 mRNAs and proteins and Th1/Th2 cytokines were detected with RT-qPCR, Western blotting or ELISA.
Results: The co-cultures of BMSCs and asthmatic bronchial epithelial cells showed significantly decreased expressions of miR-139-5p, IL-2 and IL-12 and increased expressions of CXCR4, SDF-1, IL-5, IL-9, Notch1, RBP-J, and Hes1. Transfection with miR-139-5p mimics significantly increased the expressions of miR-139-5p, IL-2, CXCR4 and SDF-1 and lowered the expression levels of IL-5, IL-9, Notch1, activated Notch1, and Hes1 in the co-cultured cells. Correlation analysis showed that BMSC homing was positively correlated with miR-139-5p and IL-12 and negatively correlated with IL-5 expression. The expression of CXCR4 was negatively correlated with activated Notch1, and SDF-1 was positively correlated with miR-139-5p but negatively correlated with Notch1 expression.
Conclusions: High expression of miR-139-5p promotes homing of BMSCs in asthma by targeting the Notch1 signaling pathway to regulate the expressions of Th1/Th2 cytokines, thereby alleviating airway inflammation.
目的: 通过将哮喘支气管上皮细胞与骨髓间充质干细胞共培养方式，观察miR-139-5p调控Notch1信号通路对哮喘骨髓间充质干细胞归巢的影响。方法: 将大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞和支气管上皮细胞共培养，并予miR-139-5p mimics进行干预。实验分为阴性对照组（NC组：正常大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞+支气管上皮细胞共培养）、模型对照组（MC组：正常大鼠骨髓间充质干细胞+哮喘大鼠支气管上皮细胞共培养）、miR-139-5p mimics组（miR-139-5p mimics+MC）、miR-139-5p mimics-NC组（miR-139-5p mimics-NC+MC）。检测细胞活力和细胞周期变化；免疫荧光染色检测CXCR4、SDF-1表达；经细胞转染后观察miR-139-5p表达量和BMSCs归巢水平；免疫印迹观察Notch1/RBP-J/Hes1蛋白表达量；ELISA检测Th1、Th2相关因子表达情况。结果: 与NC组比较，MC组miR-139-5p、IL-2、IL-12表达量降低（P<0.05），BMSCs归巢水平增加，CXCR4、SDF-1、IL-5、IL-9表达升高（P<0.05），Notch1、RBP-J、Hes1 mRNA、蛋白表达升高（P<0.05）。与MC组、miR-139-5p mimics-NC组比较，miR-139-5p mimics组miR-139-5p、BMSCs归巢水平升高，CXCR4、SDF-1、IL-2表达升高（P<0.05），Notch1、RBP-J、Hes1mRNA、蛋白表达降低，IL-5、IL-9表达降低（P<0.05）。相关性分析显示，BMSCs归巢水平与miR-139-5p、IL-12呈正相关，SDF-1与miR-139-5p呈正相关（P<0.05）；与IL-5表达呈负相关，CXCR4与Activated Notch1表达呈负相关，SDF-1与Notch1表达呈负相关（P<0.05）。结论: miR-139-5p可能通过靶向Notch1信号通路促进哮喘骨髓间充质干细胞归巢，作用于Th1、Th2细胞因子表达，改善哮喘气道炎症。.
Keywords: Notch1 signaling pathway; asthma; bone mesenchymal stem cells; miR-139-5p.