| Literature DB >> 26781774 |
Yongjie Zhou1,2, Lei Zhang1,2, Hongjie Ji1,2, Xufeng Lu1,2, Jie Xia1,2, Li Li1, Fei Chen1, Hong Bu1,2,3, Yujun Shi1,2.
Abstract
As one of the most important post-transcriptional regulators, microRNAs (miRNAs) participate in diverse biological processes, including the regulation of cell proliferation. MiR-17~92 has been found to act as an oncogene, and it is closely associated with cell proliferation. However, its role in liver regeneration is still unclear. We generated a hepatocyte-specific miR-17~92-deficient mouse and used a mouse model with 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) or intraperitoneal injection of carbon tetrachloride to demonstrate the role of MiR-17~92 in liver regeneration. In quiescent livers, the expression of the miR-17~92 cluster showed a gender disparity, with much higher expression in female mice. The expression of four members of this cluster was found to be markedly reduced after 70% PH. The ablation of miR-17~92 led to obvious regeneration impairment during the early-stage regeneration in the female mice. Ovariectomy greatly reduced miR-17~92 expression but significantly promoted liver regeneration in wild-type mice. In addition, early regeneration impairment in miR-17~92-deficient livers could be largely restored following ovariectomy. The proliferation suppressors p21 and Pten were found to be the target effectors of miR-17~92. MiR-17~92 disruption resulted in elevated protein levels of p21 and Pten in regenerating livers. MiR-17~92 functions as a proliferation stimulator and acts in an oestrogen-dependent manner. The loss of this miRNA results in increases in p21 and Pten expression and therefore impairs liver regeneration in female mice.Entities:
Keywords: gender disparity; liver regeneration; miR-17˜92; oestrogen
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Year: 2016 PMID: 26781774 PMCID: PMC4831359 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.12782
Source DB: PubMed Journal: J Cell Mol Med ISSN: 1582-1838 Impact factor: 5.310
Figure 1MiR‐17~92 expression in quiescent and regenerating livers. (A) The expression levels of four members of the miR‐17~92 cluster show noticeable gender disparity in the quiescent liver. (B) The expression of each of the members is significantly reduced in the regenerating livers of mice of both genders. The data represent the mean ± S.D.; n = 5; *P < 0.05.
Figure 2Confirmation of the hepatocyte‐specific deletion of miR‐17~92. (A) A brief schematic diagram of the construction of miR‐17~92 conditional knockout mice. (B) An electropherogram of PCR‐amplified tail DNA. The Apo gene was used as a positive control for Cre recombinase. (C) Knockout efficiency was determined by qRT‐PCR. The expression level of each member of the miR‐17~92 cluster was set at 1 in the control mice. The data represent the mean ± S.D.; n = 5. (D) Haematoxylin‐eosin staining of the liver tissues reveals no noticeable hepatic histological abnormalities in adult miR‐17~92−/− mice, scale bar: 100 μm.
Figure 3MiR‐17~92 deletion causes an obvious delay in early liver regeneration in female mice after 70% partial hepatectomy. (A and B) Immunohistochemistry and quantification of Ki67 show that in male mice, miR‐17~92 ablation does not lead to any evident differences in liver regeneration. However, female miR‐17~92−/− mice exhibit remarkably delayed regeneration at the early time‐points. The data represent the mean ± S.D.; n = 5; *P < 0.05; scale bar: 50 μm. (C) Immunoblotting of cyclins and cell cycle‐dependent kinases (CDKs) at the indicated time‐points in female regenerating liver tissue. GAPDH was used as a loading control. (D) The levels of the included proteins are expressed as ratios to GAPDH. The data represent the mean ± S.D.; n = 3; *P < 0.05.
Figure 4Ovariectomy enhances liver regeneration. (A) Ovariectomy reduces the levels of the miR‐17~92 cluster members in WT mice. (B) Oestrogen (E2) stimulation promotes miR‐17~92 production in cultured HepG2 cells. (C) Liver regeneration is promoted in female mice with both genotypes in response to ovariectomy, as determined by the number of Ki67‐positive hepatocytes. (D and E) Both Ki67 immunoreactivity and BrdU incorporation indicate that there is no difference in the regeneration rate between the WT and CKO mice after ovariectomy. *P < 0.05, scale bar: 50 μm.
Figure 5MiR‐17~92 targets Pten and p21. (A) Prediction of the binding sites of miR‐17~92 on the 3′UTRs of the Pten and p21 genes using the Targetscan online website. (B) Schematic representations of the 3′UTRs of the Pten and p21 genes and their WT miR‐17~92 (red) and mutant binding sites (blue triangle), which were cloned downstream from a luciferase reporter (Luc). (C) Specific repression of the Luc‐Pten and p21 3′UTR reporters with miR‐17~92 mimics. The mimic miR‐1 was used as a control, *P < 0.05.
Figure 6MiR‐17~92 promotes cell proliferation by inhibiting p21 and Pten expression in the regenerating liver. (A) Immunoblotting of cyclin D1, Pten, and p21 in regenerating livers of male and female mice. Histone H3 was used as a loading control. (B) The relative fold changes of cyclin D1, Pten and p21 in CKO and WT mice. The data represent the mean ± S.D.; n = 3; *P < 0.05. (C and D) Immunoblotting of p‐Akt was substantially reduced in the regenerating livers of the female CKO mice, especially at 24 and 36 hrs after 70% PH. The data represent the mean ± S.D.; n = 3; *P < 0.05.
Figure 7Proposed mechanism of miR‐17~92‐mediated liver regeneration facilitated by the inhibition of p21 and Pten.