miR-6315 silencing protects against spinal cord injury through the Smo
and anti-ferroptosis pathway
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes permanent damage and has a high
disability rate. Currently, no efficient therapeutic strategy is
available for SCI. This study investigated the mechanisms of microRNAs
(miRNAs) in rats with spinal cord injury. Whole transcriptome sequencing
(WTS) was used for analyzing miRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression
patterns in rat spinal cord tissue at different time points after SCI.
Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathways were analyzed to obtain crucial
functional pathways. miR-6315 was the most significantly upregulated and
differentially expressed miRNA after 24 h of SCI; the expression of
miR-6315 gradually decreased after 3 and 7 days of SCI. Bioinformatics
analysis was conducted to predict the targeting relation of miR-6315
with Smo, and qRT-PCR and dual-luciferase reporter assays were conducted
for verification. We successfully injected miR-6315 low-expressing
adenovirus into the center of the spinal cord lesion and successfully
infected glutamate (Glu)-treated primary spinal neurons with miR-6315
low-expressing adenovirus. miR-6315 knockdown treatment significantly
promoted functional behavioral recovery in rats post-SCI through using
Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale and the inclined
plane test. The neuronal axon regeneration and neuronal migration were
promoted, and cell apoptosis was attenuated in treated SCI rats and
Glu-treated neurons after miR-6315 knockdown using immunofluorescence
and scratch assays. We discovered that Smo and anti-ferroptosis pathway
factors, xCT, GSH, and GPX4, may be involved in miR-6315-regulated SCI
repair. The expression of miR-6315 was negatively correlated with Smo,
xCT, GSH, and GPX4. In conclusion, miR-6315 may be a potential target in
the treatment of SCI.