Role of the microRNA-17-92 cluster in the endothelial differentiation of stem cells

MicroRNAs (miRs) are small non-coding RNAs that recently emerged as potent regulators of gene expression. The members of the miR-17-92 cluster have been shown to control endothelial cell functions and neovascularization; however, the regulation and function of the cluster in endothelial cell lineage commitment has not been explored. This project aimed to test the role of the miR-17-92 cluster during endothelial differentiation. We demonstrate that miR-17, miR-18, miR-19 and miR-20 are increased upon the induction of endothelial cell differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells. In contrast, miR-92a and the primary miR-17-92 transcript were downregulated. The inhibition of each individual miR of the cluster by cholesterol-modified antagomirs did not affect endothelial marker gene expression. Moreover, the combination of all antagomirs had no effect. These findings illustrate that although the miR-17-92 cluster regulates vascular integrity and angiogenesis, none of the members has a significant impact on the endothelial differentiation of pluripotent stem cells.