Diabetes induces dysregulation of microRNAs associated with survival, proliferation and self-renewal in cardiac progenitor cells – published online 02/03/2021

Nima Purvis, Sweta Kumari, Dhananjie Chandrasekera, Jayanthi Bellae Papannarao, Sophie Gandhi, Isabelle van Hout, Sean Coffey, Richard Bunton, Ramanen Sugunesegran, Dominic Parry, Philip Davis, Michael J. A. Williams, Andrew Bahn, Rajesh Katare

Stem cell therapies promise to regenerate the diseased heart by replacing dead cardiac cells and stimulating new blood vessels. However, this approach is limited in individuals with diabetes due to a marked reduction in the number and functional efficacy of cardiac progenitor cells (CPC). In this issue, Purvis et al (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-021-05405-7) identified the dysregulation of microRNAs associated with survival, proliferation and self-renewal of CPCs in the diabetic heart. In addition, they demonstrated that therapeutic restoration of microRNA-30c-5p, one of the downregulated microRNAs in diabetic CPCs, activated endogenous stem cells in the diabetic heart and improved their survival by inhibiting pro-apoptotic voltage-dependent anion-selective channel 1 (VDAC1), the direct target of microRNA-30c-5p. The authors conclude that these findings emphasise the need for an understanding of the nature and condition of progenitor/stem cells of diabetic individuals before microRNA-targeted therapy can be used to activate endogenous stem cells in the heart, thereby eliminating the need for stem cell transplantation.

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