title: A microrna screen to identify regulators of peritoneal fibrosis in a rat model of peritoneal dialysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Peritoneal fibrosis is a common complication in patients treated with long-term peritoneal dialysis. The aim of this study was to identify the microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in regulation of peritoneal fibrosis in a rat model of peritoneal dialysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly allocated into three groups: (i) Control group (Cg, n = 8); (ii) Saline group (Sg, n = 8): daily intraperitoneal injection with 0.9% normal saline; (iii) Hypertonic dialysate group (HDg, n = 8): daily intraperitoneal injection with 4.25% peritoneal dialysis solution. Rats were sacrificed after four weeks for histological evaluation of peritoneal membrane and the expression of α-SMA and COL-1. A miRNA screen was performed using microarray analysis to identify differentially expressed miRNAs, which were then validated by real-time PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the control and the saline groups, hypertonic dialysate group showed impaired peritoneal function accompanied by a spectrum of morphological changes including thicker peritoneal membrane, higher collagen deposition, infiltration of mononuclear cells and neovascularization in the peritoneum. Increased mRNA and protein levels of α-SMA and COL-1 were observed in hypertonic dialysate group, indicating the progression of peritoneal fibrosis. The miRNA screen identified 8 significantly down-regulated miRNAs (miR-31, miR-93, miR-100, miR-152, miR-497, miR-192, miR-194 and miR-200b) and one highly up-regulated miRNA (miR-122) in the hypertonic dialysate group. The results were confirmed by real-time PCR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Altered miRNA expression in peritoneum was found in the rat model of peritoneal fibrosis, indicating that these miRNAs may be associated with pathogenesis of peritoneal fibrosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 2 Fuxuexiang Street, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China. drfanlin@163.com.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 2 Fuxuexiang Street, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China. drxuwu@163.com.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 2 Fuxuexiang Street, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China. drhuidizhang@163.com.
authors.forename: Huidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 2 Fuxuexiang Street, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China. drxiaohanyou@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiaohan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: You
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 2 Fuxuexiang Street, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China. drzhoucangzhang@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhoucang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 2 Fuxuexiang Street, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China. drrongrongshao@163.com.
authors.forename: Rongrong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, 2 Fuxuexiang Street, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China. drchaoxinghuang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chaoxing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology*; D010530:Peritoneal Dialysis; D056627:Peritoneal Fibrosis / Q000235:genetics*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs