Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
Cell Res. 2012 Jan;22(1):107-26. doi: 10.1038/cr.2011.158. Epub 2011 Sep 20.
Our previous studies have demonstrated that stable microRNAs (miRNAs) in mammalian serum and plasma are actively secreted from tissues and cells and can serve as a novel class of biomarkers for diseases, and act as signaling molecules in intercellular communication. Here, we report the surprising finding that exogenous plant miRNAs are present in the sera and tissues of various animals and that these exogenous plant miRNAs are primarily acquired orally, through food intake. MIR168a is abundant in rice and is one of the most highly enriched exogenous plant miRNAs in the sera of Chinese subjects. Functional studies in vitro and in vivo demonstrated that MIR168a could bind to the human/mouse low-density lipoprotein receptor adapter protein 1 (LDLRAP1) mRNA, inhibit LDLRAP1 expression in liver, and consequently decrease LDL removal from mouse plasma. These findings demonstrate that exogenous plant miRNAs in food can regulate the expression of target genes in mammals.
我们之前的研究表明，哺乳动物血清和血浆中的稳定 microRNAs（miRNAs）是由组织和细胞主动分泌的，可以作为疾病的一类新型生物标志物，并在细胞间通讯中充当信号分子。在这里，我们报告了一个令人惊讶的发现，即外源性植物 miRNAs 存在于各种动物的血清和组织中，并且这些外源性植物 miRNAs 主要是通过口服，通过食物摄入获得的。MIR168a 在水稻中含量丰富，是中国人血清中含量最丰富的外源性植物 miRNAs 之一。体外和体内的功能研究表明，MIR168a 可以与人类/小鼠低密度脂蛋白受体衔接蛋白 1（LDLRAP1）mRNA 结合，抑制肝脏中 LDLRAP1 的表达，从而减少小鼠血浆中 LDL 的清除。这些发现表明，食物中的外源性植物 miRNAs 可以调节哺乳动物靶基因的表达。
