Triptolide’s anti-inflammatory effects on ARDS by down-regulating miR-9-5p and up-regulating LRG1 and CLDN5
Abstract Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening respiratory disease and its treatment is not fully established. Triptolide, one of Tripterygium wilfordii’s main active components, has been proved to alleviate Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ARDS. Imbalance of MicroRNAs (miRNAs) is recognized as the pathogenic mechanism of various diseases, including ARDS. However, the specific miRNAs that play a key regulatory role in the anti-inflammatory effect of triptolide in ARDS remain elusive.Methods: In this study, we administered triptolide in a mouse model of ARDS, and whole transcriptome sequencing was applied to identify meaningful miRNAs and validate them in vitro. Results: The results showed that triptolide may reduce the inflammatory response in ARDS by regulating miR-9-5p. The data further proved that LRG1 and CLDN5 expression are regulated by miR-9-5p, and triptolide can down-regulate the expression of miR-9-5p by regulating negatively the expression of LRG1 and CLDN5.Conclusion: Our study revealed that miR-9-5p was the specific miRNAs that plays key role in triptolide’s alleviation of ARDS inflammation by regulating target genes, and its inhibitory effect on LRG1 and CLDN5 expression was verified.