Differentially expressed microRNAs and their relation to gasotransmitters in TNBS-induced colitis in rat colon

MicroRNAs are well established regulators of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Furthermore, gasotransmitters including nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) also seem to play important role in this disease pathogenesis. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between microRNAs and gasotransmitters in colitis. Male Wistar rats were administered 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS, 10 mg/0.25 ml in 50% ethanol) rectally to induce colitis. For the purpose of comparison, we observed miRNA expressions by nanoString nCounter® miRNA Expression Assay and measured the activities and expressions (by Western blot) of the enzymes responsible for gasotransmitter synthesis. In total, 228 miRNA were screened and from these 94 showed upregulation and 63 were downregulated. We found several miRNAs (miR-26a, miR-200a, miR-200c, miR-21, miR-222, miR-101, miR-28, miR-132, miR-7, miR-141, let-7, miR-196a, miR-30 and miR186) that might have an effect on gasotransmitter pathways. This study proved that there are important interactions between gasotransmitters and microRNAs in TNBS-induced rat colitis. Our results are presumably important in IBD diagnostics, pathogenesis modelling and could be a starting-point to further investigations.