Objective: To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19 in mouse GC-1 cells in vitro and its effects on the proliferation and apoptosis of GC-1 cells.
Methods: We established an in vitro hypoxia-reoxygenation model in GC-1 cells and detected the expression of lncRNA H19 in the GC-1 cells at different time points of reoxygenation injury by qRT-PCR. We determined the effects of silencing lncRNA H19 on the proliferation and apoptosis of the GC-1 cells by MTT and flow cytometry, the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins Bax and caspase-3 in the GC-1 cells by Western blot, and the expressions of microRNA-203a and PTEN by qRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively.
Results: With the prolonging of the time of reoxygenation injury, the expression of lncRNA H19 was increased significantly in the GC-1 cells and peaked at 3-hour hypoxia and 12-hour reoxygenation, but that of microRNA-203a markedly decreased. Silencing lncRNA H19 enhanced the proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of the GC-1 cells, and up-regulated the expression of microRNA-203a and down-regulated that of PTEN in the GC-1 cells.
Conclusions: LncRNA H19 is highly expressed in GC-1 cells in vitro, which may influence the proliferation and apoptosis of GC-1 cells by regulating the microRNA-203a /PTEN signaling pathway.
Keywords: GC-1 cell; PTEN; lncRNA H19; microRNA-203a; testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury.