Open AccessDexamethasone Down-Regulates the Expression of microRNA-155 in the Livers of Septic Mice
Author(s) -
Zhonghua Wang,
Yongxin Liang,
Hao Tang,
Zhibin Chen,
Zhenyu Li,
Xuchu Hu,
Zhengliang Ma
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0080547
Subject(s) - microrna , lipopolysaccharide , sepsis , dexamethasone , mir 155 , inflammation , pharmacology , medicine , immunology , endocrinology , biology , biochemistry , gene
To investigate the expression of microRNA-155 ( miRNA-155 ) in the livers of mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis and to determine the role of dexamethasone (DXM) in the regulation of miRNA-155 expression, we pretreated mice with or without DXM prior to LPS exposure. Our study demonstrated that the expression of miRNA-155 and inflammatory factors increased in the liver tissues of mice with LPS-induced sepsis and that DXM down-regulated their expression in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, DXM alone inhibited the expression of miRNA-155 to below the baseline level, but did not impact the expression of inflammatory factors, suggesting that the down-regulation of miRNA-155 by DXM may partially, but not completely, depend on the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines by DXM. Our data indicate that the overexpression of miRNA-155 in the livers of mice with LPS-induced sepsis may play an important role in the pathological processes of sepsis and that the down-regulation of miRNA-155 by DXM may be a novel mechanism regulating inflammation and immunity.