Inorganic nitrite modulates miRNA signatures in acute myocardial in vivo ischemia/reperfusion

AbstractAcute myocardial infarction is the leading cause of mortality in the industrialized world. While it is essential to attempt an early reperfusion of ischemic myocardial territories, reperfusion itself adds damage to the heart, the ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury. Particularly the injury resulting from the very first minutes of reperfusion remains incompletely understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are dynamic regulators in I/R injury. Nitric oxide (•NO) signaling, in turn, interacts with miRNA signaling. Our previous investigations showed that •NO signaling in I/R could be modulated by nitrite. We therefore sought to investigate the role of miRNAs in nitrite cardioprotection with focus on the first few minutes of reperfusion. The study was conducted in mice in vivo with 30 min of ischemia and 5 min of reperfusion. Mice received a single-dose of nitrite or saline intracardially 5 min prior to reperfusion. We identified nine miRNAs to be up-regulated after 5 min of reperfusion. The up-regulation of almost ...