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miR-940 promotes spinal cord injury recovery by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB pathway-mediated inflammation

B Wang1, P-F Shen, Y-X Qu

  • 1Department of Orthopaedics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. jarric@sina.com.

European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences
|May 14, 2019
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

MicroRNA-940 (miR-940) overexpression aids spinal cord injury recovery by reducing inflammation via the Toll-like receptor 4/Nuclear Factor κB (TLR4/NF-κB) pathway. This study demonstrates miR-940

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers significant inflammatory responses.
  • The Toll-like receptor 4/Nuclear Factor κB (TLR4/NF-κB) signaling pathway plays a crucial role in SCI-induced inflammation.
  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in regulating inflammatory processes and tissue repair.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of miR-940 in spinal cord injury.
  • To determine the effect of miR-940 on the TLR4/NF-κB pathway and inflammatory responses in SCI.
  • To evaluate the therapeutic potential of miR-940 in promoting SCI recovery.

Main Methods:

  • Establishment of a mouse model of spinal cord injury.
  • Assessment of forelimb grip strength to evaluate functional recovery.
  • Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot analysis to measure gene and protein expression (miR-940, TLR4, iNOS, MPO, P65).
  • Intra-spinal cord injection of miR-940 mimics to assess the effects of overexpression.

Main Results:

  • SCI mice exhibited decreased miR-940 expression and elevated levels of inflammatory markers (TLR4, iNOS).
  • Overexpression of miR-940 via mimics significantly reduced TLR4 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) expression.
  • miR-940 upregulation downregulated protein levels of TLR4, P65, and iNOS, and improved grip strength in SCI mice.

Conclusions:

  • High miR-940 expression promotes spinal cord injury recovery.
  • Downregulation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway by miR-940 inhibits inflammation.
  • miR-940 represents a potential therapeutic target for treating spinal cord injury.

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