Abstract
MicroRNA-21 (mir-21) induced by angiotensin II (AngII) plays a vital role in the development of pulmonary fibrosis, and the NLRP3 inflammasome is known to be involved in fibrogenesis. However, whether there is a link between mir-21 and the NLRP3 inflammasome in pulmonary fibrosis is unknown. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2/angiotensin(1-7) [ACE2/Ang(1-7)] has been shown to attenuate AngII-induced pulmonary fibrosis, but it is not clear whether ACE2/Ang(1-7) protects against pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting AngII-induced mir-21 expression. This study's aim was to investigate whether mir-21 activates the NLRP3 inflammasome and mediates the different effects of AngII and ACE2/Ang(1-7) on lung fibroblast apoptosis and collagen synthesis. In vivo, AngII exacerbated bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung fibrosis in rats, and elevated mir-21 and the NLRP3 inflammasome. In contrast, ACE2/Ang(1-7) attenuated BLM-induced lung fibrosis, and decreased mir-21 and the NLRP3 inflammasome. In vitro, AngII activated the NLRP3 inflammasome by up-regulating mir-21, and ACE2/Ang(1-7) inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation by down-regulating AngII-induced mir-21. Over-expression of mir-21 activated the NLRP3 inflammasome via the ERK/NF-κB pathway by targeting Spry1, resulting in apoptosis resistance and collagen synthesis in lung fibroblasts. These results indicate that mir-21 mediates the inhibitory effect of ACE2/Ang(1-7) on AngII-induced activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by targeting Spry1 in lung fibroblasts.