[MicroRNA-144 over-expression induced myocytes apoptosis].

Objective: To investigate the effects of microRNA-144 (miR-144) expression on H9C2 (2-1) myocytes.

Methods: MiR-144 was up-regulated in primary cultured H9C2 (2-1) myocytes through transfection. Cells transfected with Lipofectamine(TM) 2000 and its mixture with miRNA synthesized randomly as blank control and negative control respectively. The up-regulation of miR-144 was confirmed by real-time PCR. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by means of CCK-8, Caspase-3 and flow cytometry.

Results: Real-time PCR results showed that the miR-144 expression was obviously increased in miR-144 up-regulation group (2178.84 ± 838.52) compared with negative (2.06 ± 0.73) and blank (1.00 ± 0.00) control group (all P < 0.01). The proliferation was lower, the activity of Caspase-3 was elevated and the apoptosis rates were significantly increased in miR-144 up-regulation group compared with negative and blank control group, while no significant difference was found between the latter 2 groups.

Conclusion: MiR-144 mimics may selectively up-regulate the expression of miR-144 in myocardial cells and consequently promote apoptosis and inhibit proliferation in myocardial cells.