MicroRNA (miRNA) mimics or antagomirs hold great promise for asthma treatment compared with glucocorticoids as mainstay therapy for asthma. But the role of miRNA in regulating asthmatic inflammation is largely unclear. We previously reported that miR-3162-3p in the peripheral blood of children with asthma was obviously upregulated compared to that in healthy children. This study aimed to elucidate the role of miR-3162-3p in pulmonary inflammation in normal and asthmatic mice as well as preliminarily explore the potential of miR-3162-3p antagomir in asthma treatment. A noninvasive whole-body plethysmograph measured airway responsiveness. Both qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of miRNA, mRNA, or protein. Cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were counted by platelet counting and Wright's staining. Inflammatory infiltration and mucus secretion were identified by hematoxylin and eosin and periodic acid-Schiff staining, respectively. Cytokines in the lungs were detected by ELISA. The miR-3162-3p mimic intraperitoneally administered to normal mice decreased β-catenin levels in the lungs without obviously altering the lung histology and cytokine levels. Antagonizing miR-3162-3p in ovalbumin-induced asthmatic mice effec-Juman Liua, Yinhui Chena, and Feng Zhang contributed equally to this work. Edited by: H.-U. Simon, Bern.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.