Vascular endothelial cell damage is regarded as the carrier in the progression of the pathological changes of
preeclampsia (PE) from the placenta to maternal organs.
MicroRNA (miR)-141-3p was aberrantly expressed during PE pathogenesis. We investigated the role of miR-141-3p in regulating the
biological behaviors of endothelial cells in PE. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were isolated from the human umbilical cords and cultured under
hypoxia condition to establish PE models. The binding of miR-141-3p and Notch2 was confirmed by dual-
luciferase reporter assay. HUVECs were transfected with miR-141-3p inhibitor and siRNA-Notch2. The viability, vascularization capability, migration, and invasion of HUVECs were evaluated by MTT, tube formation, and Transwell assays. Cell apoptosis was measured via flow cytometry. The expressions of miR-141-3p, Notch2, Bcl-2, Bax and cleaved
caspase-3 were assessed by qRT-PCR or Western blot. MiR-141-3p expression was upregulated in the HUVECs isolated from PE tissues and
hypoxia-induced HUVECs.
Hypoxia treatment inhibited viability, tube formation, migration, and invasion, and promoted apoptosis in HUVECS, as well as increased Bax and cleaved
caspase-3 expressions and decreased Bcl-2 expression. Downregulating miR-141-3p expression promoted viability, tube formation, migration and invasion, and inhibited apoptosis in HUVECs, counteracting the effect of
hypoxia on HUVECs. MiR-141-3p directly targeted Notch2. Silencing Notch2 reversed the promoting effect of downregulated miR-141-3p expression on HUVECs. In conclusion, downregulating miR-141-3p expression during
hypoxia promotes tube formation, migration, and invasion and inhibits apoptosis in HUVECs by targeting Notch2.