LncRNA HOXA11‐AS promotes vascular endothelial cell injury in atherosclerosis by regulating the miR‐515‐5p/ROCK1 axis

Abstract Aims Long non‐coding RNA HOXA11‐AS participated in heart disease. In this study, we aim to evaluate the potential roles of HOXA11‐AS in atherosclerosis and its underlying mechanisms. Methods and results The expression levels of HOXA11‐AS in ox‐LDL‐treated HUVECs and arch tissues of high‐fat diet‐fed ApoE−/− mice (n = 10) were assessed by qRT‐PCR. The effects of HOXA11‐AS knockdown on the development of atherosclerosis were evaluated using in vitro and in vivo models. Luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays verified the potential relationships between HOXA11‐AS or ROCK1 and miR‐515‐5p. The interactive roles between HOXA11‐AS and miR‐515‐5p and between miR‐515‐5p and ROCK1 were further characterized in ox‐LDL‐treated HUVECs. Our data showed that HOXA11‐AS was significantly up‐regulated (P