Open AccessAssessing the survival of exogenous plant microRNA in mice
Author(s) -
Liang GaoFeng,
Zhu YanLiang,
Sun Bo,
Shao YouHua,
Jing AiHua,
Wang JunHua,
Xiao ZhongDang
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
food science and nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.614
H-Index - 27
ISSN - 2048-7177
DOI - 10.1002/fsn3.113
Subject(s) - rna , biology , feces , gastrointestinal tract , rna silencing , spleen , microrna , stomach , microbiology and biotechnology , physiology , rna interference , biochemistry , immunology , gene
Micro RNA s (mi RNA s), a class of small RNA s, are important molecules that influence several developmental processes and regulate RNA interference ( RNA i), and are abundant in animals, plants, and plant tissues that are traditionally consumed in the diet. The survival of plant small RNA s from the diet in animals, however, remains unclear, and the persistence of mi RNA s from dietary plants in the animal gastrointestinal ( GI ) tract is still under debate. In this study, ICR mice were fed plant total RNA s in quantities of 10–50 μ g, extracted from Brassica oleracea . Serum, feces, and various tissues were collected from the mice after RNA consumption and analyzed for several mi RNA s. Exogenous plant mi RNA s were present in the sera, feces, and tissues of animals and these exogenous plant mi RNA s were primarily acquired orally. MiR‐172, the most highly enriched exogenous plant mi RNA in B. oleracea , was found in the stomach, intestine, serum, and feces of mice that were fed plant RNA extracts including miR‐172. The amount of miR‐172 that survived passage through the GI tract varied among individuals, with a maximum of 4.5% recovered at the stomach of one individual, and had a range of 0.05–4.5% in different organs. Furthermore, miR‐172 was detected in the blood, spleen, liver, and kidney of mice.