Endocrine Regulations Vol.48, No.2, p.103-108, 2014

Objective. The present study was designed to evaluate whether microRNA-146a, as an NF-кB regulating factor and its adapter proteins (TRAF6 and IRAK1), are affected by diabetes in rat aorta.
Methods.

Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control and diabetic groups (n=6 in each).

Diabetes was induced by a single injection of streptozotocin (55 mg/kg; i.p.) in 12 h fasted rats. The gene expression of microRNA-146a, NF-κB, IRAK1, and TRAF6 were determined by real time PCR.
Results.

The expression of microRNA-146a was down-regulated in diabetic aorta when compared with the control group (p<0.05).

The mRNA expression levels of NF-кB, TRAF6 and IRAK1 also increased in the diabetic rat aorta when compared with their control counterparts (p<0.01 for all comparisons).

Conclusion. These results suggest that down-regulation of microRNA-146a may lead to derangement in NF-кB negative feedback loop, propelling the aorta toward inflammation.