MiR-21 inhibits c-Ski signaling to promote the proliferation of rat vascular smooth muscle cells

Previously, we reported that the decrease of endogenous c-Ski expression is implicated in the progression of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation after arterial injury. However, the molecular mechanism of the down-regulation of c-Ski is not clear. In this study, a potential miR-21 recognition element was identified in the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of rat c-Ski mRNA. A reporter assay revealed that miR-21 could recognize the miR-21 recognition element of c-Ski mRNA. In A10 rat aortic smooth muscle cells, overexpression of miR-21 significantly inhibited the expression of c-Ski protein and promoted cell proliferation, which could be blocked by inhibition of miR-21 or overexpression of c-Ski. Further investigation demonstrated that the effect of miR-21 on VSMC proliferation resulted from negative regulation of c-Ski to suppress p38–p21/p27 signaling, the downstream pathway of c-Ski in VSMCs. These results indicate that c-Ski is a target gene of miR-21. miR-21 specifically binds to the 3′-untranslated region of c-Ski and negatively regulates c-Ski expression to diminish the protective effects of c-Ski and stimulate VSMC proliferation in the progression of arterial injury.