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Thyroid hormone-responsive miR-378 modulates cholesterol homeostasis by regulating hepatic bile acid synthesis

ABSTRACT: An improved mechanistic understanding of the thyroid hormone (TH) action on bile acid (BA) synthetic pathway, the major route for cholesterol elimination, will facilitate the identification of novel therapeutic targets for hypercholesterolemia. Here, we show that hepatic miR-378 is positively regulated by TH. Transient overexpression of miR-378 in the liver of mice reduces the serum cholesterol levels, which is accompanied with an upregulation of key enzymes involved in the intrahepatic conversion of cholesterol to BAs. Importantly, transgenic mice with liver-specific and moderate overexpression of miR-378 also display a decrease in serum cholesterol levels accompanied with an enhanced BA synthesis and are resistant to diet-induced hypercholesterolemia. In contrast, mice lacking miR-378 exhibit an elevation of serum cholesterol levels accompanied with an impaired BA synthesis. Mechanistic studies reveal that hepatic miR-378 regulates BA synthesis and cholesterol homeostasis through its direct target gene MAFG, which is a transcriptional repressor of BA synthetic genes. We also show that miR-378 serves as an essential component in either incoherent or coherent feed-forward loop to confer robust and precise controls on BA synthesis in response to TH signalling. Together, we identify a previously undescribed miR-378-mediated mechanism underlying the cholesterol-lowering effect of TH. Our findings not only add a new dimension to our understanding the regulation of BA synthesis by TH, but also provide new therapeutic regimens to manage serum cholesterol levels

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE139491 | GEO | 2019/10/29

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Rationale: MicroRNAs play key roles in hypertrophic stress responses. miR-378(-3p) is a highly abundant, cardiomyocyte-enriched microRNA whose downregulation in pressure-overload has been suggested as detrimental to the heart. Previous studies have utilized systemic anti-miR or microRNA-encoding virus administration, and thus questions regarding the cardiomyocyte-autonomous roles of miR-378 remain. Objective: To examine whether persistent overexpression of miR-378 in cardiomyocytes alters the phenotype of the unstressed heart, whether its overexpression is beneficial or deleterious in the setting of pressure-overload, and to comprehensively identify its cardiomyocyte-specific effects on mRNA regulation. Methods and Results: Cardiac function was compared in young (10-12 week-old) mice overexpressing miR-378 in the heart under the control of the Myh6 promoter (alphaMHC-miR-378 mice), in older (40 week-old) mice and their age-matched wild-type controls. Older alphaMHC-miR-378 mice exhibited decreased fractional shortening and modest chamber dilation with an increase in cardiomyocyte length. When subjected to pressure-overload, cardiomyocyte length was increased in young alphaMHC-miR-378 mice, but fractional shortening declined precipitously over two weeks. Transcriptome profiling of wild-type and alphaMHC-miR-378 hearts in unstressed and pressure-overload conditions revealed dysregulation of several upstream metabolic and mitochondrial genes in alphaMHC-miR-378 hearts, compromising the reprogramming that occurs during early adaptation to pressure overload. Ago2 immunoprecipitation with mRNA sequencing revealed novel miR-378 cardiac mRNA targets including Akt1 and Epac2 and demonstrated the contextual nature of previously described miR-378 targeting events. Conclusions: Long-term upregulation of miR-378 levels in the heart is not innocuous and exacerbates contractile dysfunction in pressure-overload hypertrophy through numerous signaling mechanisms.