Acute lung injury (ALI) is the leading cause of death in
sepsis patients. Exosomes participate in the occurrence and development of ALI by regulating endothelial cell inflammatory response, oxidative stress and apoptosis, causing serious pulmonary vascular leakage and interstitial
edema. The current study investigated the effect of exosomal
miRNAs on endothelial cells during
sepsis. We found a significant increase in miR-1-3p expression in cecal
ligation and
puncture (CLP) rats exosomes sequencing and
sepsis patients' exosomes, and
lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. However, the specific biological function of miR-1-3p in ALI remains unknown. Therefore, mimics or inhibitors of miR-1-3p were transfected to modulate its expression in HUVECs. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, contraction, permeability, and membrane injury were examined via cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry,
phalloidin staining, Transwell assay,
lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity, and Western blotting. The miR-1-3p target gene was predicted with
miRNA-related databases and validated by
luciferase reporter. Target gene expression was blocked by
siRNA to explore the underlying mechanisms. The results illustrated increased miR-1-3p and decreased stress-associated endoplasmic reticulum
protein 1 (SERP1) expression both in vivo and in vitro. SERP1 was a direct target gene of miR-1-3p. Up-regulated miR-1-3p inhibits cell proliferation, promotes apoptosis and cytoskeleton contraction, increases monolayer endothelial cell permeability and membrane injury by targeting SERP1, which leads to dysfunction of endothelial cells and weakens vascular barrier function involved in the development of ALI. MiR-1-3p and SERP1 may be promising therapeutic candidates for
sepsis-induced
lung injury.