Microscopic polyangiitis plasma-derived exosomal miR-1287-5p induces endothelial inflammatory injury and neutrophil adhesion by targeting CBL

Background An inflammatory environment around the vessel wall caused by leukocyte infiltration is one of the characteristic histopathological features of microscopic polyangiitis (MPA); however, the pathogenic mechanisms are not fully understood. Studies have found that circulating microRNA (miRNA) can be used as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and classification of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV), and the E3 ubiquitin ligase casitas B-lineage lymphoma (CBL) seems to be associated with inflammation. In addition, evidence indicates that miRNA can be tracked into exosomes and transferred into recipient cells to mediate the process of vascular endothelial injury. Herein, we aimed to identify the profiles of exosomal miRNA, and determine the effect of exosomal miR-1287-5p and its target gene CBL on vascular endothelial cells in MPA. Method We isolated plasma exosomes from patients with MPA (MPA-exo) and healthy controls (HC-exo) by ultracentrifugation and conducted exosome small-RNA sequencing to screen differential miRNA expression in MPA-exo ( n = 3) compared to HC-exo ( n = 3). We measured the expression levels of miR-1303, miR-1287-5p, and miR-129-1-3p using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR, n = 6) and performed dual luciferase reporter gene assays to confirm the downstream target gene of miR-1287-5p. In addition, we treated human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) with MPA-exo, or transfected them with miR-1287-5p mimic/inhibitor or with CBL-siRNA/CBL-siRNA+ miR-1287-5p inhibitor. After cell culture, we evaluated the effects on vascular endothelial cells by examining the mRNA levels of IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin using qRT-PCR and performed neutrophil adhesion assay with haematoxylin staining. Result Transmission electron microscopy, Western blot and nanoparticle tracking analysis showed that we successfully purified exosomes and MPA-exo could be absorbed into HUVEC. We screened a total of 1,077 miRNA by sequencing and observed a high abundance of miR-1287-5p in the exosomes obtained from MPA plasma. The dual luciferase reporter assay identified CBL as a downstream target gene of miR-1287-5p, and the results revealed that MPA-exo decreased CBL protein expression in HUVEC. In addition, treatment with MPA-exo, up-regulating miR-1287-5p or silencing of CBL in HUVEC significantly increased the mRNA expression of inflammatory factors (including IL-6, IL-8, and MCP-1) and adhesion molecules (including ICAM-1 and E-selection) and promoted the adhesion of neutrophils to HUVEC. However, down-regulating miR-1287-5p had the opposite effect. Conclusion Our study revealed that MPA-exo was involved in the intercellular transfer of miR-1287-5p and subsequently promote the development of acute endothelial injury in MPA. MiR-1287-5p and CBL agonists may be promising therapeutic approach for MPA-induced vascular inflammatory injury.