Abstract
Emerging studies indicate that extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their inner circular RNAs (circRNAs), play key roles in the gene regulatory network and cardiovascular repair. However, our understanding of EV-derived circRNAs in cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI) remains limited. Here we show that the level of circCEBPZOS is downregulated in serum EVs of patients with the adverse cardiac remodeling compared with those without post-MI remodeling or normal subjects. Loss-of-function approaches in vitro establish that circCEBPZOS robustly promote angiogenesis. Overexpression of circCEBPZOS in mice attenuates MI-induced left ventricular dysfunction, accompanied by a larger functional capillary network at the border zone. Further exploration of the downstream target gene indicates that circCEBPZOS acts as a competing endogenous RNA by directly binding to miR-1178-3p and thereby inducing transcription of its target gene phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDPK1). Together, our results reveal that circCEBPZOS attenuates detrimental post-MI remodeling via the miR-1178-3p/PDPK1 axis, which facilitates revascularization, ultimately improving the cardiac function.