Department of General Surgery, Tianjin General Surgery Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Microsurgery. 2014 Jan;34(1):44-50. doi: 10.1002/micr.22139. Epub 2013 Aug 2.
Xenograft rejection poses the largest obstacle to successful xenotransplantation. Recent studies have demonstrated that miRNAs play essential roles in embryogenesis, cell proliferation, and pathogenesis of human diseases. However, the role of miRNA in regulating xenograft rejection is relatively unknown. This study was undertaken to analyze the profile of intragraft miRNA expression in a heterotopic mouse-to-rat cardiac xenotransplantation model. Using microarray analysis, a total of 579 miRNAs were detected in the grafts following transplantation. When compared with syngeneic heart grafts, 24 and 25 miRNAs were found to differentially express in xenografts at 24 and 40 hours (endpoint of rejection), respectively, following transplantation. Three major miRNAs were then further analyzed, and it was found that the xenografts showed high expression of miR-146a and miR-155, but low expression of miR-451 when compared with isograft controls. This study suggests that miRNAs detected in this model are potentially involved in the xenogeneic immune response and could play an important role in regulating xenograft rejection.
异种移植排斥反应是异种移植成功的最大障碍。最近的研究表明，miRNA 在胚胎发生、细胞增殖和人类疾病的发病机制中发挥着重要作用。然而，miRNA 在调节异种移植排斥反应中的作用尚不清楚。本研究旨在分析异种异位鼠-大鼠心脏移植模型中移植物内 miRNA 表达谱。通过微阵列分析，在移植后检测到移植物中共有 579 个 miRNA。与同基因心脏移植物相比，移植后 24 和 40 小时（排斥终点）的异种移植物中分别发现有 24 和 25 个 miRNA 差异表达。然后进一步分析了 3 个主要的 miRNA，结果发现与同种异体对照组相比，异种移植物中 miR-146a 和 miR-155 的表达较高，而 miR-451 的表达较低。本研究表明，在该模型中检测到的 miRNAs 可能参与了异种免疫反应，并可能在调节异种移植排斥反应中发挥重要作用。
