title: Upregulation of miR-15b in NAFLD models and in the serum of patients with fatty liver disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In the present study, we examined the expression and function of miR-15b in a rat model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and we determined whether the presence of miR-15b in serum can be used as a biomarker for this disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the expression of miR-15b in both the high-fat-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) SD rat model and in the palmitate-induced NAFLD L02 cell model. Following transfection of miR-15b into QSG7701 cells, cell proliferation, glucose consumption and intracellular triglyceride levels were measured. We also measured the levels of miR-15b in the serum of fatty liver disease patients using real-time PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that miR-15b was upregulated in the livers of NAFLD SD rats as well as in NAFLD L02 cells. Increased miR-15b levels could cause decreased cell proliferation and glucose consumption as well as induce the storage of intracellular triglyceride in QSG7701 cells. The expression of miR-15b was also significantly elevated in the serum of fatty liver disease patients compared with healthy subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased miR-15b expression in NAFLD models may lead to decreased cell proliferation and glucose consumption while inducing the storage of intracellular triglyceride, which are all hazards of NAFLD. Therefore, increased serum miR-15b level is a potentially biomarker for the diagnosis of fatty liver disease.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yuhao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xixiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Jingkun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hongyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Weiwei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Daru
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002460:Cell Line; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C505361:MIRN15 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D014280:Triglycerides; C534110:mirn15 microRNA, rat; D005947:Glucose