Cardiac Fibroblasts Promote Ferroptosis in Atrial Fibrillation by Secreting Exo-miR-23a-3p Targeting SLC7A11

Figure 8

Inhibitor-miR-23a-3p protects h9c2 cells from ferroptosis by upregulating SLC7A11. (a, b) Representative gel bands depicting FTH1, GPX4, and SLC7A11 proteins expression in h9c2 cells transfected with inhibitor-miR-23a-3p and stimulated by rapid pacing 48 h. ( =3). (c) Total iron level in h9c2 cells transfected with inhibitor-miR-23a-3p and stimulated by rapid pacing 48 h. ( =3). (d) MDA level in h9c2 cells transfected with inhibitor-miR-23a-3p and stimulated by rapid pacing 48 h. ( =3). (e, f) Early cell apoptosis was detected through flow cytometry in h9c2 cells transfected with inhibitor-miR-23a-3p and stimulated by rapid pacing 48 h. ( =3). (g, h) Representative images of reactive oxygen species by fluoroscopy in h9c2 cells transfected with inhibitor-miR-23a-3p and stimulated by rapid pacing 48 h. ( =3). (i) Target sequence of miR-23a-3p in the wild-type (WT) SLC7A11 3 UTR and sequence of mutated (Mut) SLC7A11 3 UTR predicted by starBase v2.0. (j) Measurement of firefly luciferase activity normalized to Renilla luciferase activity in 293 T cells. ( =5). Data are presented as the mean ± SD. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA with a post hoc Dunnett test. , , and indicate  <0.05, 0.01, and 0.001, respectively. Abbreviations: inhibitor: h9c2 cells transfected with inhibitor-miR-23a-3p (30 μM); inhibitor+pacing: h9c2 cells transfected with inhibitor-miR-23a-3p and pacing for 48 h (30 μM).

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