title: Exogenous plant MIR168a specifically targets mammalian LDLRAP1: evidence of cross-kingdom regulation by microRNA.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dongxia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Donghai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lingyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yujing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.forename: Xiangying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tianfu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dihan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Dianmu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Qun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ba
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jianqun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qipeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zen
authors.forename: Chen-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D044466:Asian People; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D019295:Computational Biology; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D060434:Herbivory; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; D022142:Secretory Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014162:Transfection; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; C469745:LDLRAP1 protein, human; C500241:Ldlrap1 protein, mouse; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018749:RNA, Plant; D022661:RNA, Untranslated