MicroRNA-195 Activates Hepatic Stellate Cells In Vitro by Targeting Smad7

BACKGROUND AND AIM Aberrant activation of the TGF-β1/Smad pathway contributes to the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). MicroRNA-195 has been shown to regulate the activation of HSCs. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of miRNA-195 in HSCs activation. METHODS A liver fibrotic rat model induced by diethylnitrosamine was established. Dual luciferase reporter assays were performed to verify that Smad7 was the target of miRNA-195. The expression levels of miR-195, Smad7, and α-SMA in HSC-T6 transfected, respectively, with miR-195 mimic, inhibitor, or control were measured by qRT-PCR. The protein expression of Smad7 was detected by Western blot analysis. RESULTS Enhanced miR-195 and decreased Smad7 were observed in diethylnitrosamine-induced liver fibrotic rats (P < 0.05). Dual luciferase reporter assays showed that the miR-195 mimic significantly suppressed the luciferase activity of a reporter plasmid carrying the binding site of miR-195 on the 3'UTR of Smad7 (P < 0.05). The miR-195 mimics activated HSCs, further elevated miR-195 and α-SMA (P < 0.01), and reduced the Smad7 level (P < 0.05). The miR-195 inhibitors blocked the activation of HSCs, reduced the expression of miR-195 and α-SMA (P < 0.01), and upregulated the expression of Smad7 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Collectively, we demonstrated that miRNA-195 activated HSCs by targeting Smad7.