Abstract
MicroRNA-125b (miR-125b) has been implicated in a variety of diseases as either repressors or promoters, and plays crucial roles in many cellular processes such as cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. Age-related cataract has become one of the most serious problems facing the aging population in the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of miR-125b in the development of age-related cataract. We demonstrated that miR-125b was downregulated in both age-related cataract tissue and lens epithelial cell apoptosis induced by UV irradiation. We also identified the impact of miR-125b on apoptosis in a lens epithelial cell line. In vitro, miR-125b regulates human lens epithelial cell apoptosis at least in part by directly targeting p53. In addition, an inverse relationship between miR-125b and p53 expression was seen in age-related cataract tissue. In conclusion, this study suggests that miR-125b might be closely involved in the pathogenesis of cataract, and has the potential to be a diagnostic biomarker or even a therapeutic modality for cataract.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2439-2447 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease |
Volume | 1842 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1 2014 |
Keywords
- Apoptosis
- Cataract
- Gene expression regulation
- MicroRNA-125b
- P53
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Molecular Medicine
- Molecular Biology