Down-regulation of miR-143-3p and decrease of Treg cells in CIA
mice
To further confirm our findings, CIA model mice, which has a similar
pathological mechanism to that of human RA[20,31],
were successfully established to evaluate the relationship between
miR-143-3p and Treg cells in vivo. Compared to those in WT mice, the
arthritis score, paw swelling, histopathologic scores, TRAP-positive
multinucleated cells, and inflammatory cytokine expression in CIA mice
markedly increased (Figure 3-4). While a notable decline in the
expression of miR-143-3p was detected in the splenic
CD4+T cells of CIA mice (Figure 3A). As reported in
previous studies[32], the differentiation of Treg
cells both in blood and spleen and the expression of Foxp3 in spleen and
axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) markedly decreased in CIA mice compared to
the control (Figure 5). These results suggest a possible positive effect
of miR-143-3p on Treg differentiation and RA pathogenesis.