| Summary: | Aberrant proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases including coronary heart disease, restenosis and atherosclerosis. MicroRNAs are a class of small, non-coding and endogenous RNAs that play critical roles in VSMCs function. In this study, we showed that PDGF-bb, as a stimulant, promoted VSMCs proliferation and suppressed the expression of miR-599. Moreover, overexpression of miR-599 inhibited VSMCs proliferation and also suppressed the PCNA and ki-67 expression. In addition, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of miR-599 repressed the VSMCs migration. We also showed that miR-599 inhibited type I collagen, type V collagen and proteoglycan expression. Furthermore, we identified TGFb2 as a direct target gene of miR-599 in VSMCs. Overexpression of TGFb2 reversed miR-599-induced inhibition of VSMCs proliferation and type I collagen, type V collagen and proteoglycan expression. In conclusion, our findings suggest miR-599 plays a crucial role in controlling VSMCs proliferation and matrix gene expression by regulating TGFb2 expression.
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