A novel identified circular RNA, circSnap47, promotes heart failure progression via regulation of miR-223-3p/MAPK axis

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of circSnap47 on heart failure (HF) and its potential mechanisms. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the mRNA expression levels of circSnap47 and miR-233-3p. The viability and apoptosis of H9C2 cells were assessed using CCK-8 and TUNEL assays. The expressions of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were determined using ELISA and qRT-PCR. In addition, the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway-related proteins was analyzed using western blot. Moreover, HF-related circRNAs and miRNAs were predicted via bioinformatics analysis. The relationship between circSnap47 and miR-233-3p was further confirmed using a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. In HF tissues and H9C2 cells treated with oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD), circSnap47 was upregulated. Silencing circSnap47 increased cell viability and inhibited apoptosis. Besides, silencing circSnap47 alleviated OGD-induced inflammation in H9C2 cells. Moreover, we found that miR-233-3p was the downstream target gene of circSnap47. Our results also revealed that silencing circSnap47 relieved OGD-induced H9C2 cell damage by inactivating the miR-223-3p/MAPK axis. We confirmed that circSnap47 silencing inhibited HF progression via regulation of miR-223/MAPK axis, which will provide for a new therapeutic direction for the treatment of HF.