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MicroRNA mimicry blocks pulmonary fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Over the last decade, great enthusiasm has evolved for microRNA (miRNA) therapeutics. Part of the excitement stems from the fact that a miRNA often regulates numerous related mRNAs. As such, modulation of a single miRNA allows for parallel regulation of multiple genes involved in a particular disease. While many studies have shown therapeutic efficacy using miRNA inhibitors, efforts to restore or increase the function of a miRNA have been lagging behind. The miR-29 family has gained a lot of attention for its clear function in tissue fibrosis. This fibroblast-enriched miRNA family is downregulated in fibrotic diseases which induces a coordinate increase of many extracellular matrix genes. Here, we show that intravenous injection of synthetic RNA duplexes can increase miR-29 levels in vivo for several days. Moreover, therapeutic delivery of these miR-29 mimics during bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis restores endogenous miR-29 function whereby decreasing collagen expression and blocking and reversing pulmonary fibrosis. Our data support the feasibility of using miRNA mimics to therapeutically increase miRNAs and indicate miR-29 to be a potent therapeutic miRNA for treating pulmonary fibrosis.

SUBMITTER: Montgomery RL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4287936 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration, scar formation, deposition of extracellular matrix, alveolar epithelial cell injury and hyperplasia. To determine if alterations in microRNA expression contribute to these phenotypes, microRNA expression profiling of the lungs from bleomycin treated C57Bl/6J mice, relative to that of untreated controls, was undertaken. Mice were treated at 8 weeks old with 100 Units/kg of bleomycin delivered subcutaneously with osmotic minipumps. At 42 days post treatment mice were euthanized and lung microRNA isolated. We identified 11 microRNA's to be significantly differentially expressed (FDR threshold of 0.01) in the lungs of bleomycin treated mice and confirmed these data with real time PCR measurements. These included bleomycin upregulated miR-34a, 335-5p, 207, 21, 301a, 146b, 199a-5p, and 449a and bleomycin downregulated miR-151-3p, 26a and 676. We have previously shown that 1558 genes are differentially expressed in the lungs of bleomycin treated mice. Of the 1412 targets of upregulated microRNAs, 142 were confirmed to be downregulated in the gene expression profile (GEP). Of the 583 targets of downregulated microRNAs, 53 were confirmed to be upregulated in the gene expression profile. Pathway analysis of the microRNA targets and GEP overlapping genes indicated that altered microRNA expression is associated with cellular development, cellular growth, cellular proliferation and changed tissue/cell morphology. Specific pathways include HGF signaling, Cholecystokinin/Gastrin-mediated signaling, Endothelin-1 signaling, RAR activation, Phospholipase C signaling and IGF1 signaling. We conclude that altered microRNA expression is a feature of pulmonary fibrosis which putatively influences components of the altered airway disease. Two condition study, C57Bl/6J mice treated with 100 Units/kg bleomycin and untreated controls. Biological replicated n =3 for each group. Left lung tissue.

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MicroRNA mimicry blocks pulmonary fibrosis.

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