lncRNA LENGA sponges miR-378 to promote myocardial fibrosis in atrial fibrillation.

miR-378 is known to suppress myocardial fibrosis, while its upstream regulators have not been identified. lncRNA LENGA is a recently identified lncRNA in cancer biology. We observed the altered expression of LENGA in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients and predicted its interaction with miR-378. We then explored the interaction between LENGA and miR-378 in AF. Angiotensin-II (Ang-II)-induced human atrial cardiac fibroblasts and human atrial muscle tissues were collected and the expression of LENGA and miR-378 was determined by RT-qPCR. The interaction between LENGA and miR-378 was analyzed through bioinformatics analysis and confirmed by RNA pulldown assay. Cell proliferation and collagen production were analyzed through assay to analyze the role of LENGA and miR-378 in MF. AF patients showed increased expression of LENGA and deceased expression of miR-378 compared to the sinus rhythm group. LENGA and miR-378 interacted with each other, while they are not closely correlated with each other. Overexpression assay showed that LENGA and miR-378 overexpression failed to affect each other's expression. LENGA promoted collagen production and proliferation of Ang-II-induced atrial fibroblasts, while miR-378 played opposite roles. Moreover, LENGA suppressed the function of miR-378. Therefore, LENGA may sponge miR-378 to promote MF in AF.