Modulation of miRNA expression has been shown to be beneficial in the context of multiple diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine if an inhibitor of miR-337-3p is neuroprotective for hypoxic injury after tail vein injection. We evaluated miR-337-3p expression levels and in brain tissue in vivo before and after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) in mice. Subsequently, a custom locked nucleic acid (LNA) antimir-337-3p oligonucleotide was developed and tested in vitro after induction of oxygen glucose-deprivation (OGD) and in vivo by injection into the mouse tail vein for 3 consecutive days before pMCAO. Ischemic lesion volume was measured by TTC staining. We show that systemically administered LNA antimir-337-3p crosses the blood brain-brain-barrier (BBB), penetrates into neurosn, downregulates endogenous miR-337-3p expression and reduces ischemic brain injury. The findings support the use of similar antimir-LNA constructs as novel therapies in neurological disease.
Keywords: Anti-mRNA; LNA; Neuroprotection; Stroke; Systemic delivery; microRNA.
Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.