Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects obesity-associated metabolic syndrome, which exhibits hepatic steatosis, insulin insensitivity and glucose intolerance. Previous studies indicated that hepatic microRNAs (miRs) play critical roles in the development of NAFLD. In this study, we aim to explore the pathophysiological role of miR-194 in obesity-mediated metabolic dysfunction. Our findings show that the high fat diet or palmitic acid treatment significantly increase hepatic miR-194 levels in vivo and in vitro. Silence of miR-194 protects palmitic acid-induced inflammatory response in cultured hepatocytes, and attenuates structural disorders, lipid deposits and inflammatory response in fatty liver. MiR-194 inhibitor also improves glucose and insulin intolerance in obese mice. Through dual luciferase assay, we demonstrate that miR-194 directly binds to FXR/Nr1h4 3'-UTR, and inhibits gene expression of FXR/Nr1h4. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-194 downregulates FXR/Nr1h4 in cultured hepatocytes, but miR-194 inhibitor reversely increases FXR/Nr1h4 expression in obese mouse liver tissues. On the contrast, silence of FXR/Nr1h4 abolishes the hepatic benefits in obese mice treated with miR-194 inhibitor. Present study provides a novel finding that suppression of miR-194 attenuates dietary-induced NAFLD via upregulation of FXR/Nr1h4. The findings suggest miR-194/FXR are potential diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for NAFLD.

It has been controversial whether ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) are separate or different phases of radiographic progression. We determined that serum calprotectin level (ng/ml) was higher in AS (15.30 ± 6.49) and nr-axSpA (17.76 ± 8.59) patients than in healthy individuals (7.40 ± 2.67). No difference was observed in calprotectin level between these two groups. Elevated calprotectin was positively correlated with ESR, CRP, BASDAI, and ASDAS as well as SPARCC scoring and had no correlation with BASFI and mSASSS. No correlation was observed between calprotectin and Wnt/β-catenin pathway markers. Serum calprotectin can be used as a marker for inflammation in both nr-axSpA and AS, while it does not contribute to the discrimination of AS and nr-axSpA. Calprotectin-mediated inflammation was not correlated with principle effectors of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, indicating that inflammation and bone fusion might be separate processes of the disease.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract