RNA-Seq of inflammatory stimulated HUVECs transfected with microRNA-125a-5p or negative control

Purpose: In recent years, research has revealed the role of microRNAs (miRs) as important regulators of endothelial function. Notably, miR-125a is upregulated in the blood of patients with acute vascular diseases. Since miRNAs act out their function in networks, we aimed at investigating the presence of a miR-125a-related network regulating the endothelial barrier.Method: We investigated transcriptional changes of human umbilical cord endothelial cells (HUVEC) after miR-125a overexpression in an acute inflammatory in-vitro setting using Next Generation Sequencing. Briefly, primary HUVECs from five different donors were transfected either with hsa-miR-125a-5p or negative control (NC). After transfection HUVECs were cultivated for 18 hours and stimulated with TNF (25 ng/ml) for additional 6 hours. We compared the following groups: NC (18047-0001, 18047-0002, 18047-0003, 18047-0004, 18047-0005) versus miR125a: (18047-0006, 18047-0007, 18047-0008, 18047-0009, 18047-0010)Results: MiR-125a overexpression in inflammatory activated HUVECs significantly altered gene expression of 341 genes (FC: +2 to -2, p<0.05). We found eight potential miR-125a direct target genes involved in endothelial barrier function.