As shown in Fig. 6d, TUNEL and Nkx2.5 (a marker of cardiomyocytes) co-staining showed that the apoptosis rate of cardiomyocytes in the MI group was increased significantly compared with the sham group in 1 week after (rAAV9)-mediated gene delivering in the heart, while the apoptosis rate of cardiomyocytes in the si-circMACF1 and miR-1184 overexpression groups was significantly reduced, and co-transfection of miR-1184 with si-circROBO2 could further reduce apoptosis in myocardium. The gene discussed is NKX2-5; the disease is myocardial infarction.