Figure 2.

Overexpression of 5′-tiRNA-Cys-GCA inhibits VSMC proliferation, migration, and phenotypic conversion in vitro

(A) 5′-tiRNA-Cys-GCA mimics were used to overexpress 5′-tiRNA-Cys-GCA in VSMCs. The expression of 5′-tiRNA-Cys-GCA was determined using quantitative real-time PCR. (B and C) Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) (B) and cell-light EdU staining (C) were performed to measure cell proliferation at 0, 12, 24, and 36 h. (D and E) The cell migration after overexpression of 5′-tiRNA-Cys-GCA in VSMCs was analyzed by wound-healing (D) and Transwell (E) assay. (F) Western blotting analyses were conducted to measure the protein expression level of contractile markers after overexpression of 5′-tiRNA-Cys-GCA in VSMCs. (G and H) TUNEL assay (G) and western blot (H) were used to detect cell apoptosis after overexpression of 5′-tiRNA-Cys-GCA in VSMCs. Data are presented as mean ± SD. Each experiment was repeated at least three times. Scale bars, 200 μm. ∗p < 0.05; ∗∗p < 0.01; ∗∗∗p < 0.001; ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001; ns, not significant.