View related articlesView Crossmark data Citing articles: 13 View citing articles Exosomal miR-320d derived from adipose tissue-derived MSCs inhibits apoptosis in cardiomyocytes with atrial fibrillation (AF)

Background Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a primary clinical manifestation of venous thromboembolism (VTE). It has been demonstrated that pulmonary endothelial cells (PECs) are apoptotic-resistance in PE. In this study, PECs were collected from PE patients and mouse models. Western blot, RT-PCR, flow cytometry, H&E and TUNEL assay, confocal and TEM microscopy, and luciferase reporter assay were performed to determine the effects of miR-28-3p on PECs apoptosis and if exosomes can act as the shuttle to transport miR-28-3p to PECs. Material and Methods The results revealed that apoptosis and miR-28-3p were downregulated in PECs of PE. The miR-28-3p mimics and inhibitor enhanced and further inhibited apoptosis in PECs, respectively. Results Both miR-28-3p-modified adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) and AMSC-derived exosomes upregulated miR-28-3p expression in PECs, leading to elevated apoptosis of PECs. Apoptosis inhibitor 5 (API5) was a direct target gene of miR-28-3p, and the overexpression of API5 in miR-28-3p-modified PECs further suppressed apoptosis. Conclusions Furthermore, the administration of miR-28-3p-modified exosomes to PE mouse model promoted apoptosis in PECs. In conclusion, exosomal miR-28-3p could ameliorate PE-associated apoptosis-resistance in PECs through targeting API5 in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, AMSCs-derived exosome is a promising way to deliver functioning miRNA to PECs, providing insight into novel therapy of PE.