Institute of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing, 404000, China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 5;7(1):645. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-00488-y.
MicroRNAs are a class of small RNAs that are important in post-transcriptional gene regulation in animals and plants. These single-stranded molecules are widely distributed in organisms and influence fundamental biological processes. Interestingly, recent studies have reported that diet-derived plant miRNAs could regulate mammalian gene expression, and these studies have broadened our view of cross-kingdom communication. In the present study, we evaluated miRNA levels in cooked maize-containing chow diets, and found that plant miRNAs were resistant to the harsh cooking conditions to a certain extent. After feeding fresh maize to pigs (7 days), maize-derived miRNAs could be detected in porcine tissues and serum, and the authenticity of these plant miRNAs was confirmed by using oxidization reactions. Furthermore, in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that dietary maize miRNAs could cross the gastrointestinal tract and enter the porcine bloodstream. In the porcine cells, we found that plant miRNAs are very likely to specifically target their endogenous porcine mRNAs and influence gene expression in a fashion similar to that of mammalian miRNAs. Our results indicate that maize-derived miRNAs can cross the gastrointestinal tract and present in pigs, and these exogenous miRNAs have the potential to regulate mammalian gene expression.
微小 RNA 是一类在动植物中参与转录后基因调控的小 RNA。这些单链分子在生物体中广泛分布，并影响基本的生物学过程。有趣的是，最近的研究报道称，来源于饮食的植物微小 RNA 可以调节哺乳动物的基因表达，这些研究拓宽了我们对跨物种交流的认识。在本研究中，我们评估了含有烹饪玉米的常规饮食中的微小 RNA 水平，发现植物微小 RNA 在一定程度上能够抵抗苛刻的烹饪条件。在用新鲜玉米喂养猪（7 天）后，可在猪组织和血清中检测到玉米来源的微小 RNA，并且通过氧化反应证实了这些植物微小 RNA 的真实性。此外，体内和体外实验表明，膳食玉米微小 RNA 可以穿过胃肠道并进入猪的血液。在猪细胞中，我们发现植物微小 RNA 很可能特异性地靶向其自身的内源性猪 mRNAs，并以类似于哺乳动物微小 RNA 的方式影响基因表达。我们的结果表明，玉米来源的微小 RNA 可以穿过胃肠道并存在于猪体内，这些外源性微小 RNA 有可能调节哺乳动物的基因表达。
