MicroRNA-31 Reduces Inflammatory Signaling and Promotes Regeneration in Colon Epithelium, and Delivery of Mimics in Microspheres Reduces Colitis in Mice
Authors: Pengbo Lou
Wei Cui
Guilin Li
Yuhua Tian
Xi Wu
Wei Wu
Jianwei Shuai
Xiaohua Hou
Sujuan Du
Yingzi Cong
Yongli Song
Bing Zhang
Mengzhen Li
Hongquan Zhang
Jiuzhi Xu
Maksim V Plikus
Cong Lv
Mingzhou Guo
Kaichun Wu
Huiwen You
Ruiqi Liu
Xueyun Bi
Lixiang Xue
Zhengquan Yu
Zhanju Liu
Xiaole Sheng
Christopher J Lengner
Fazheng Ren
Jinyue Sun
Ran Zhao
Yuan Li
Journal: Gastroenterology (2019)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: Gene Regulation; IBD; Nanoparticle Delivery System; Posttranscriptional Processing.
Affiliations: State Key Laboratories for Agrobiotechnology and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health and, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China., Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health and, College of Food Sciences and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China., Department of Gastroenterology, The Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, China., School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China., State Key Laboratories for Agrobiotechnology and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health and, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK., Institute of Agro-Food Science and Technology, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, China., Department of Physics and State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, Innovation Center for Cell Signaling Network, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China., College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China., Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China., Division of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Technology and Science, Wuhan, China., Department of Gastroenterology, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China., Medical Research Center. Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China., Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology and Tumor Biology, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Beijing, China., Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, Center for Complex Biological Systems, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas., Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, and Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania., Department of Gastroenterology, The Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: ., State Key Laboratories for Agrobiotechnology and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health and, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  Background &amp; aims: Levels of microRNA 31 (MIR31) are increased in intestinal tissues from patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and colitis-associated neoplasias. We investigated the effects of this microRNA on intestinal inflammation by studying mice with colitis. Methods: We obtained colon biopsy samples from 82 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 79 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), and 34 healthy individuals (controls) at Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital. MIR31- knockout mice and mice with conditional disruption of Mir31 specifically in the intestinal epithelium (MIR31 conditional knockouts) were given dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) or 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) to induce colitis. We performed chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase assays to study proteins that regulate expression of MIR31, including STAT3 and p65, in LOVO colorectal cancer cells and organoids derived from mouse colon cells. Partially hydrolyzed alpha-lactalbumin was used to generate peptosome nanoparticles, and MIR31 mimics were loaded onto their surface using electrostatic adsorption. Peptosome-MIR31 mimic particles were encapsulated into oxidized konjac glucomannan (OKGM) microspheres, which were administered by enema into the large intestines of mice with DSS-induced colitis. Intestinal tissues were collected and analyzed by histology and immunohistochemistry. Results: Levels of MIR31 were increased in inflamed mucosa from patients with CD or UC, and from mice with colitis, compared with controls. STAT3 and nuclear factor-κB activated transcription of MIR31 in colorectal cancer cells and organoids in response to tumor necrosis factor and interleukin (IL)6. MIR31-knockout and conditional-knockout mice developed more severe colitis in response to DSS and TNBS, with increased immune responses, compared with control mice. MIR31 bound to 3' untranslated regions of Il17ra and Il7r messenger RNAs (RNAs) (which encode receptors for the inflammatory cytokines IL17 and IL7) and Il6st mRNA (which encodes GP130, a cytokine signaling protein). These mRNAs and proteins were greater in MIR31-knockout mice with colitis, compared with control mice; MIR31 and MIR31 mimics inhibited their expression. MIR31 also promoted epithelial regeneration by regulating the WNT and Hippo signaling pathways. OKGM peptosome-MIR31 mimic microspheres localized to colonic epithelial cells in mice with colitis; they reduced the inflammatory response, increased body weight and colon length, and promoted epithelial cell proliferation. Conclusions: MIR31, increased in colon tissues from patients with CD or UC, reduces the inflammatory response in colon epithelium of mice by preventing expression of inflammatory cytokine receptors (Il7R and Il17RA) and signaling proteins (GP130). MIR31 also regulates the WNT and Hippo signaling pathways to promote epithelial regeneration following injury. OKGM peptosome-MIR31 microspheres localize to the colon epithelium of mice to reduce features of colitis. Transcript Profiling: GSE123556. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 The authors examined the colitis phenotypes induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). However, the histological images in this paper are not consistent. for example, 5-day DSS treatment of WT in Fig2F is different from other images shown throughout this paper, Fig2G, 3D, 3G, 3H, 4C, 4D, 5A. The difference between WT and MIR31- -, if you compare with Fig2F WT, is trivial. any group can repeat their results, please let us know. , 
 Figure 5J: * Blue boxes: two panels appear to show an overlap with a rotation. They look more similar than if they were adjacent sections. ![file] ,