학술논문
Inhibition of miR-33a/b in non-human primates raises plasma HDL and lowers VLDL triglycerides.
Document Type
Article
Author
Rayner, Katey J.; Esau, Christine C.; Hussain, Farah N.; McDaniel, Allison L.; Marshall, Stephanie M.; van Gils, Janine M.; Ray, Tathagat D.; Sheedy, Frederick J.; Goedeke, Leigh; Liu, Xueqing; Khatsenko, Oleg G.; Kaimal, Vivek; Lees, Cynthia J.; Fernandez-Hernando, Carlos; Fisher, Edward A.; Temel, Ryan E.; Moore, Kathryn J.
Source
Subject
*LIPOPROTEINS
*OLIGONUCLEOTIDES
*LIPID metabolism
*LABORATORY mice
*FATTY acids
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Language
ISSN
0028-0836
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in westernized countries, despite optimum medical therapy to reduce the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-associated cholesterol. The pursuit of novel therapies to target the residual risk has focused on raising the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-associated cholesterol in order to exploit its atheroprotective effects. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as important post-transcriptional regulators of lipid metabolism and are thus a new class of target for therapeutic intervention. MicroRNA-33a and microRNA-33b (miR-33a/b) are intronic miRNAs whose encoding regions are embedded in the sterol-response-element-binding protein genes SREBF2 and SREBF1 (refs 3-5), respectively. These miRNAs repress expression of the cholesterol transporter ABCA1, which is a key regulator of HDL biogenesis. Recent studies in mice suggest that antagonizing miR-33a may be an effective strategy for raising plasma HDL levels and providing protection against atherosclerosis; however, extrapolating these findings to humans is complicated by the fact that mice lack miR-33b, which is present only in the SREBF1 gene of medium and large mammals. Here we show in African green monkeys that systemic delivery of an anti-miRNA oligonucleotide that targets both miR-33a and miR-33b increased hepatic expression of ABCA1 and induced a sustained increase in plasma HDL levels over 12 weeks. Notably, miR-33 antagonism in this non-human primate model also increased the expression of miR-33 target genes involved in fatty acid oxidation (CROT, CPT1A, HADHB and PRKAA1) and reduced the expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis (SREBF1, FASN, ACLY and ACACA), resulting in a marked suppression of the plasma levels of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-associated triglycerides, a finding that has not previously been observed in mice. These data establish, in a model that is highly relevant to humans, that pharmacological inhibition of miR-33a and miR-33b is a promising therapeutic strategy to raise plasma HDL and lower VLDL triglyceride levels for the treatment of dyslipidaemias that increase cardiovascular disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]