MicroRNA-384-5p protects against cardiac hypertrophy via the ALPK3 signaling pathway

Heart failure is a condition caused by a variety of pathophysiological factors. One important pathological change of chronic heart failure is myocardial hypertrophy. In recent years, several studies have found that dysregulated microRNAs are involved in regulating the pathological process of heart failure. In this study, cardiac hypertrophy models were constructed using isoproterenol (ISO)-/angiotensin-II (Ang-II) to explore the role of miR-384-5p in cardiac hypertrophy and its molecular mechanism in vivo and in vitro. Echocardiography, invasive pressure-volume analysis and hematoxylin-eosin staining were used to explore cardiac structure and function. ALPK3 mRNA and protein expression were detected using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis and miR-384-5p expression were assessed via RT-qPCR. Our findings determined that miR-384-5p was notably decreased in cardiac hypertrophic tissues and cells, and overexpression of miR-384-5p could ameliorate pressure overload. Furthermore, ALPK3 was determined to downregulate the ALPK3 expression to aggravate cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Our findings provided a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy.