Semaphorin-3A as An Immune Modulator Is Suppressed by MicroRNA-145-5p

Semaphorin-3A (SEMA3A) and its receptors are found on some immune cells and act as suppressors of immune cells over-activation. Considering the role of SEMA3A and its down-regulation in some autoimmune diseases, as well as our bioinformatics predictions, we assumed that miR-145-5p might affect SEMA3A expression. So, we aimed to determine the effect of miR-145-5p on SEMA3A gene expression level.
In this experimental study, we evaluated the effect of miR-145-5p transfection on SEMA3A expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using ELISA and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods.
Our results showed that miR-145-5p is able to decrease SEMA3A expression at both protein and mRNA levels. These data confirmed our previous bioinformatic prediction about the inhibitory effect of miR-145-5p on SEMA3A expression.
These results enlightened us about an unknown aspect of SEMA3A role in some autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and also proposed SEMA3A as a potential therapeutic approach.