Angiotensin II (Ang II) has been proven to induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). The aim of the present study was to determine the role of microRNA-29b (miR-29b) during Ang II-induced EMT. For this purpose, we used spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. The levels of Ang II and its receptor in the kidneys of the SHRs are significantly higher th...

MiR-29b has been reported to be both a suppressor and a promoter in breast cancer (BC) cells proliferation and metastasis. Significant efforts have been made to explain the seemingly contradictory effects of miR-29b on BC, but no answer has yet been clearly verified. In this study, we overexpressed and knocked down miR-29b in BC cell lines, modulated expression of its downstream target gene TET...

Recent evidence has suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis (AD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential functions of miRNAs in AD and to identify the underlying mechanisms. We firstly analyzed miRNA expression in the skin lesions of patients with AD using microarray analysis....

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common type of bone cancer, with a peak incidence in the early childhood. Emerging evidence suggests that treatments targeting cancer stem cells (CSCs) within a tumor can halt cancer and improve patient survival. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the maintenance of the CSC phenotype, thus, identification of CSC-related miRNAs would provide information for ...

During gastrulation, the neuroectoderm cells form the neural tube and neural crest. The nervous system contains significantly more microRNAs than other tissues, but the role of microRNAs in controlling the differentiation of neuroectodermal cells into neural tube epithelial (NTE) cells and neural crest cells (NCCs) remains unknown. Using embryonic stem cell (ESC) neural differentiation systems,...

MicroRNA 29b (miR-29b) replacement therapy is effective for suppressing fibrosis in a mouse model. However, to develop clinical applications for miRNA mimics, the side effects of nucleic acid drugs have to be addressed. In this study, we focused on miRNA mimics in order to develop therapies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. We developed a single-stranded RNA, termed "miR-29b Psh-match," that h...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of single-stranded small molecule RNA with about 22 nucleotides in length (Bartel, 2009). These short RNA molecules are able to bind to specifics sites typically present in the three prime untranslated region (3’-UTR) of their target genes and mediate either mRNA decay with perfect base pairing or translational blockade with imperfect base pairing (Pillai et al., ...

PURPOSE To investigate the role of miR-29b on the changes in expression of genes involved in the synthesis and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) induced by chronic oxidative stress in human trabecular meshwork cells (HTM). METHODS Changes in gene expression induced by miR-29b in HTM cells were evaluated by gene array analysis using Affymetrix U133A2 arrays and confirmed by quantitative...

Vascular calcification is a risk predictor and common pathological change in cardiovascular diseases that are associated with elastin degradation and phenotypic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells via gelatinase matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2). However, the mechanisms involved in this process remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the relationships between miR-29b-3p and MM...

OBJECTIVE Decreased expression of collagen type II in favour of collagen type I or X is one hallmark of chondrocyte phenotype changes in osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage. MicroRNA- (miR-) 29b was previously shown to target collagens in several tissues. We studied whether it could contribute to collagen imbalance in chondrocytes with an impaired phenotype. METHODS After preliminary microarrays sc...