LONG NONCODING RNAS AND YTHDF2 REGULATE HUMAN PULMONARY ARTERY SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS DIFFERENTIATION

DE LA CRUZ THEA, B. I.; NATALI, LAUTARO; MUSRI, M.M.; HO, X. H.; VOLPINI, XIMENA; PEINADO, VÍCTOR I.; MEISTER, GUNTER

Congreso; Reunión Anual de Sociedades de Biociencia 2020; 2020

SAIC, SAI, SAFIS

Alteration of smooth muscle cell (SMC) plasticity from a contractile-differentiated to a proliferative-dedifferentiated phenotype constitutes a key factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Epigenetic mechanisms, such as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and RNA modifications such as N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulate a number of biological processes in both physiological and pathological settings, but their participation in SMC differentiation is just starting to emerge. The aim of this study was to investigate molecular mechanisms involved in SMC differentiation mediated by novel lncRNAs. We used an in vitro model of cell-to-cell contact-induced SMC differentiation of pulmonary artery-derived SMC (hPASMC, Lonza). LncRNAs expression was assessed by Illumina RNA deep-sequencing of total RNA and RT-qPCR. The lncRNA4 (TCONS_00006193) expression showed a significant increase during differentiation when compared with proliferative SMC (p