An increasing amount of research is demonstrating the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in human
cardiovascular disease, and in particular,
atherosclerosis. To date, the mechanism through which
lncRNA OIP5-AS1 regulates the oxidative
low-density lipoprotein (
ox-LDL)-mediated endothelial cell apoptosis is still unclear. Results from this study found that
lncRNA OIP5-AS1 was significantly over-expressed in the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) administered with
ox-LDL. The silencing of OIP5-AS1 inhibited apoptosis and promoted proliferation via inducing G0/G1 cycle arrest.
Chromatin immunoprecipitate (ChIP) revealed that
lncRNA OIP5-AS1 reduced GSK-3β expression through recruiting EZH2, a critical
element of the
Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) complex that directly bind with the GSK-3β promoter region. Rescue experiments validated that GSK-3β could eliminate the effect of OIP5-AS1 on HUVECs. Overall, these findings suggest that
lncRNA OIP5-AS1 accelerates
ox-LDL mediated vascular endothelial cell apoptosis through targeting GSK-3β via recruiting EZH2, providing potential therapeutic strategies for
atherosclerosis.