Abstract 15481: The Vasoactive MicroRNA miR-487b-3p Undergoes A-to-I Editing of the Seed-Sequence During Post-Ischemic Neovascularization

Introduction: We have previously shown that miR-487b-3p plays an important role in cardiovascular pathology. MiR-487b-3p regulates arteriogenesis and angiogenesis in a murine hindlimb ischemia model. In contrast to most microRNAs, that can have up to several hundred potential target genes, miR-487b-3p only has 21 potential conserved target genes. It has been shown for several microRNAs that, under pathological conditions, Adenosine residues in the mature microRNA sequence are edited to Inosine. In Watson-Crick base-pairing Inosine behaves as a Guanine residue and thus, ‘A-to-I editing’ in microRNAs can have a major impact on target gene selection. Hypothesis: Given the narrow range of potential miR-487b-3p target genes, we hypothesized that miR-487b-3p undergoes A-to-I editing under pathological conditions. Methods and Results: cDNA was made from total RNA isolated from muscle tissue of mice subjected to hindlimb ischemia. We used Sanger sequencing to identify A-to-I editing sites in the miR-487b precurso...