Long intergenic noncoding RNA 00473 promoting migration and invasion of trophoblastic cell line HTR-8/SVneo via regulating miR-424-5p-mediated wnt3a/β-catenin signaling pathway

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious obstetric complication. Recent studies point out that the functions of long intergenic noncoding RNA 00473 (linc00473), miR-424-5p, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway were involved in the invasion and migration of extravillous trophoblast. Here, we investigated the role and mechanism of linc00473 in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblastic cell line and its role in PE.

Method: The expression levels of linc00473 and miR-424-5p in placental tissues and the transfection efficiency of miR-424-5p were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). HTR-8/SVneo cell invasion and proliferation were determined by transwell and Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays. The protein expressions of wnt3a, p-GSK3β, GSK3β, active β-catenin, and total β-catenin were detected by Western blot. The apoptosis and migration of HTR-8/SVneo cells were detected by flow cytometry and wound healing assays. The targeting relationships between linc00473, miR-424-5p, and wnt3a were predicted by ENCORI database and TargetScan V7.2 and were determined using dual-luciferase reporter assay.

Results: The expression level of linc00473 was low and miR-424-5p was high in placenta of PE patients. Linc00473 can target miR-424-5p, while miR-424-5p target wnt3a. High expression of linc00473 and wnt3a promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis. However, miR-424-5p mimic inhibited HTR-8/SVneo cells proliferation, migration, invasion, while promoted cell apoptosis, partially reversed the effect of linc00473, while wnt3a overexpression partially counteracted the effect of miR-424-5p mimic.

Conclusion: Linc00473 mediates the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by miR-424-5p to affect the invasion and migration ability of trophoblastic cell line HTR-8/SVneo. It indicated that linc00473 is involved in PE and could be a therapeutic target.