Role of microRNA‐122 in microcystin‐leucine arginine‐induced dysregulation of hepatic iron homeostasis in mice

Abstract

Microcystin‐leucine arginine (MC‐LR) is a cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxin produced by cyanobacteria. MicroRNA‐122 (miR‐122) is specifically expressed in the liver. This study focuses on the role of miR‐122 in MC‐LR‐induced dysregulation of hepatic iron homeostasis in C57BL/6 mice. The thirty mice were randomly divided into five groups (Control, 12.5 μg/kg·BW MC‐LR, 25 μg/kg·BW MC‐LR, Negative control agomir and 25 μg/kg·BW MC‐LR + miR‐122 agomir). The results show that MC‐LR decreases the expressions of miR‐122, Hamp, and its related regulators, while increasing the content of hepatic iron and the expressions of FPN1 and Tmprss6. Furthermore, miR‐122 agomir pretreatment improves MC‐LR induced dysregulation of hepatic iron homeostasis by arousing the related regulators and reducing the expression of Tmprss6. These results suggest that miR‐122 agomir can prevent the accumulation of hepatic iron induced by MC‐LR, which may be related to the regulation of hepcidin by BMP/SMAD and IL‐6/STAT signaling pathways.

miR-96-5p

“…MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs of approximately 20 to 22 nucleotides (nt). They are reportedly ubiquitous in multicellular organisms [9–11] . Mature microRNAs can post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression by mediating the silencing of their target mRNA, which consequently affect the synthesis of target proteins [12] .…”

“…They are reportedly ubiquitous in multicellular organisms. [9][10][11] Mature microRNAs can posttranscriptionally regulate gene expression by mediating the silencing of their target mRNA, which consequently affect the synthesis of target proteins. [12] In recent years, microRNAs have been associated with the development of many human diseases, including cancers, [13,14] autoimmune diseases, [15,16] and cardiovascular disease.…”