MicroRNAs Involved in the Lipid Metabolism and Their Possible Implications for Atherosclerosis Development and Treatment

Table 2

Additional microRNAs involved in the lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis.

MicroRNA	Target mRNA	Function	Reference
miR-1/206	LXRα	Suppresses lipogenesis.	[24]
miR-9	ACAT1	Decreases formation of foam cells.	[25]
	PPARδ	Mediates inflammatory response in human monocytes following lipopolysaccharide treatment.	[26]
miR-21	FABP7	Downregulated in the livers of mice on a high-fat diet. MiR-21 levels may be upregulated by lycopene, thus blocking lipid accumulation.	[27]
miR-29a	LPL	Upregulated in oxLDL-treated dendritic cells. By targeting LPL, it affects lipid uptake and inflammatory cytokine secretion.	[28]
miR-30c	MTP	Reduces ApoB secretion, lipid synthesis, and atherosclerosis in ApoE^−/− mice.	[29]
miR-125a-5p	ORP9	Upregulated in macrophages treated with oxLDL mediating lipid uptake. Inhibits the secretion of inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6-, TNFα, TGFβ).	[30]
miR-155	SCG2	Upregulated in oxLDL-treated macrophages/dendritic cells. Important for lipid uptake and expression of adhesion molecules.	[31]
	LXRα	Upregulated in the liver of animals on a high-fat diet. Upregulation seems to protect them from steatosis, since miR-155^−/− animals are susceptible to hepatosteatosis.	[32]
	FADD	Attenuates oxLDL-mediated macrophage apoptosis implicating a possible protective role in atherosclerosis.	[33]
miR-181b	Importin-α3	Downregulated in ApoE^−/− mice and in subjects with CAD. Delivery of miR-181b reduces inflammatory response and protects ApoE^−/− mice from atherosclerosis.	[34]
miR-185/342	SREBP	In prostate cancer cells, miR-185 and miR-342 target SREBP, causing FASN and HMGCoAR downregulation.	[35]
miR-217	SIRT1	Upregulated in the liver of chronically ethanol-fed mice, resulting in fat accumulation.	[36]
miR-335	–-	Upregulated in the liver and white adipose tissue of obese mice. During adipose tissue differentiation, its levels correlate with lipid accumulation and e.g., PPARγ or FAS levels.	[37]
miR-378/378*	CRAT, MED13	Both miRNAs are encoded within the PGC-1β gene which is important for mitochondrial development and metabolism. By targeting CRAT and MED13, they affect fatty acid metabolism and metabolic gene expression control.	[38]
	–-	Overexpression of miR-378/378* stimulates lipogenesis and increases lipid droplet size in developing adipocytes.	[39]
miR-467b	LPL	Downregulated in the liver of high-fat diet-fed mice, which results in the upregulation of LPL and affects the development of hepatosteatosis.	[40]
		Decreased lipid accumulation and inflammatory cytokine secretion in oxLDL-treated macrophages.	[41]
miR-613	LXRα	Suppresses lipogenesis.	[42]

LXRα: liver X receptor; ACAT1: acyl-coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase; PPARγ: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ; FABP7: fatty acid-binding protein 7; LPL: lipoprotein lipase; MTP: microsomal triglyceride transfer protein; ORP9: oxysterol binding protein-like 9; SCG2: secretogranin 2; FADD: fas-associated death domain-containing protein; SREBP: sterol regulatory element binding protein; SIRT1: sirtuin 1; CRAT: carnitine O-acetyltransferase; MED13: mediator of RNA polymerase II transcription subunit 13; oxLDL: oxidized low-density lipoprotein.