MicroRNA-411 and its 5’-isomiR have distinct targets and functions and are differentially regulated in the vasculature under ischemia

Abstract MicroRNAs are posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression. As microRNAs can target many genes simultaneously, microRNAs can regulate complex multifactorial processes, including post-ischemic neovascularization, a major recovery pathway in cardiovascular disease. MicroRNAs select their target mRNAs via full-complementary binding with their seed-sequence, i.e. nucleotides 2-8 from the 5’-end of a microRNA. The exact sequence of a mature microRNA, and thus of its 5’- and 3’- ends, is determined by two sequential cleavage steps of microRNA precursors, by Drosha/DGCR8 and Dicer. When these cleavage steps result in nucleotide switches at the 5’-end, forming a so-called 5’-isomiR, this results in a shift in the mature microRNA’s seed-sequence. The role of 5’-isomiRs in cardiovascular diseases is still unknown. Here we characterize the expression and function of the 5’-isomiR of miR-411 (ISO-miR-411). ISO-miR-411 is abundantly expressed in human primary vascular cells. ISO-miR-411 has a different ‘targetome’ from WT-miR-411, with only minor overlap. The ISO-miR-411/WT-miR-411 ratio is downregulated under acute ischemia, both in cells and a murine ischemia model, but is upregulated instead in chronically ischemic human blood vessels. ISO-miR-411 negatively influences vascular cell migration, whereas WT-miR-411 does not. Our data demonstrate that isomiR formation is a functional pathway that is actively regulated during ischemia.