MiR-495-3p regulates myoblasts proliferation and differentiation through targeting cadherin 2

MircoRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in skeletal muscle development. Previous study had found that miR-495-3p was differentially expressed in fetal and adult goat skeletal muscle, but its function in myogenic proliferation and differentiation are unclear. Herein, we found the expression of miR-495-3p in C2C12 was downregulated during proliferation stage and upregulated during differentiation stage. Functionally, overexpression of miR-495-3p in C2C12 inhibited proliferation, and promoted myogenic differentiation. Mechanistically, the luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that cadherin 2 (<i>CDH2</i>) was a potential target gene of miR-495-3p. Importantly, overexpression of miR-495-3p inhibited <i>CDH2</i> expression. Furthermore, knockdown of <i>CDH2</i> in C2C12 inhibited proliferation and promoted myogenic differentiation. Together, the results showed that miR-495-3p inhibits C2C12 proliferation and promotes myogenic differentiation through targeting <i>CDH2</i>.

微小RNA（miRNAs）在骨骼肌发育中发挥重要调控作用。既往研究显示，miR-495-3p在山羊胎肌与成体肌组织中呈差异表达，但其在成肌增殖与分化过程中的功能尚未明确。本研究中，我们发现miR-495-3p在C2C12细胞中的表达在增殖阶段下调，而在分化阶段上调。功能实验结果表明，在C2C12细胞中过表达miR-495-3p可抑制细胞增殖，并促进成肌分化。机制层面，荧光素酶报告基因实验证实，钙粘蛋白2（CDH2）是miR-495-3p的潜在靶基因；同时，过表达miR-495-3p可抑制CDH2的表达。进一步实验显示，在C2C12细胞中敲低CDH2可抑制细胞增殖并促进成肌分化。综上，本研究结果表明，miR-495-3p通过靶向CDH2抑制C2C12细胞增殖并促进成肌分化。