Fig. 6.
Propofol exposure induces alterations in the expression of the microRNA-21 (miR-21) regulator, pSTAT3, and the direct and indirect targets of miR-21, Sprouty 2 and pAkt, respectively, and manipulation of miR-21 expression alters the expression of Sprouty 2. (A) Exposure to 6 h of 20 μg/ml propofol significantly decreased the expression of pSTAT3 (a). Propofol exposure significantly increased the expression of Sprouty 2 (b) and decreased the expression of pAkt (c). (B) Human embryonic stem cell (hESC)–derived neurons were transfected for 20 h with an miR-21 antagomir (anti-miR-21, 25 nm) or scrambled control microRNA. Following the transfection, the expression of Sprouty 2 was assessed by Western blot. Sprouty 2 expression was significantly elevated following miR-21 knockdown (a). In addition, miR-21 abundance was artificially increased by transfecting hESC-derived neurons with 1 nm miR-21 mimic (pre-miR-21). Following the transfection, Sprouty 2 expression was again assessed by Western blot. The expression of Sprouty 2 was significantly reduced following miR-21 overexpression, suggesting that Sprouty 2 is a direct target of miR-21 in our model (b). *P < 0.05 versus control or scramble, n = 3. pAkt = phosphorylated (Ser 473) protein kinase B; pSTAT3 = phosphorylated (Tyr 705) signal transducer and activator of transcription 3.