MicroRNA miR-466 inhibits Lymphangiogenesis by targeting prospero-related homeobox 1 in the alkali burn corneal injury model

Background Lymphangiogenesis is one of the major causes of corneal graft rejection. Among the lymphangiogenic factors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C and -D are considered to be the most potent. Both bind to VEGF receptor 3 (VEGFR3) to activate Prospero homeobox 1 (Prox1), a transcription factor essential for the development and maintenance of lymphatic vasculature. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) bind to the 3' untranslated regions (3' UTRs) of target genes in a sequence-specific manner and suppress gene expression. In the current study, we searched for miRNAs that target the pro-lymphangiogenic factor Prox1. Results Among the miRNAs predicted by the bioinformatic analysis to seed match with the 3' UTR of Prox-1, we chose 3 (miR-466, miR-4305, and miR-4795-5p) for further investigation. Both the miR-466 and miR-4305 mimics, but not the miR-4795-5p mimic, significantly reduced the luciferase activity of the Prox-1 3' UTR reporter vector. In primary lymphatic endothelial cells (HDLEC), miR-466 mimic transfection suppressed Prox1 mRNA and protein expression, while miR-4305 mimic transfection did not. Experiments using mutated reporter constructs of the two possible seed match sites on the 3' UTR of Prox1 suggested that the target site 2 directly bound miR-466. HDLEC transfected with the miR-466 mimic suppressed tube formation as compared to the scrambled control. Furthermore, HDLEC transfected with a miR-466 inhibitor showed enhanced tube formation as compared to control inhibitor transfected cells, and this inhibitory effect was counteracted by Prox1 siRNA. The miR-466 mimic reduced angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis resulting in clearer corneas in an cornea injury rat model compared to the scrambled control. Conclusions Our data suggest that miR-446 may have a protective effect on transplanted corneas by suppressing Prox1 expression at the post-transcriptional level. The results of the current study may provide insights into the mechanisms of lymphangiogenesis resulting from corneal graft rejection and alkali-burn injuries, as well as into the development of new treatments for lymphangiogenic eye diseases. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12929-014-0104-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.