MicroRNA Sponge Knockdowns miR-483-5p and Upregulates Serum ALT/AST in Transgenic Mice

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Yanfen Zhang¹, Dantong Wu^2,3, Xuemei Zhang², Ning Ma^2*, and Yanhong Liu^1*

¹Harbin Medical University, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Harbin 150086, China; E-mail: 460205012@qq.com

²Harbin Medical University, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harbin 150086, China

³Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Harbin 150086, China

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received August 24, 2017; Revision received September 28, 2017

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MicroRNAs are involved in many biological processes. Studying microRNA function requires genetic strategies generating loss-of-function phenotypes, especially in vivo. However, few microRNA loss-of-function models have been reported in mice. Here, we generated several transgenic mouse lines to stably and specifically knockdown miR-483-5p by overexpressing microRNA sponges from CAG promoters. The different levels of expression of microRNA sponges resulted in different levels of mature miR-483-5p, which upregulated serum ALT/AST in these transgenic lines. These results indicate microRNA sponges are effective in mice in vivo, and they can be used in microRNA loss-of-function research.

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KEY WORDS: knockdown, loss-of-function, microRNA sponges, transgenic mice

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297918010078

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