Cited by 185MicroRNA in disease regulationAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsCholesterol and Lipid Metabolism

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 62 of the 63 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 25 of the 53 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

miR-106b impairs cholesterol efflux and increases Aβ levels by repressing ABCA1 expression

Open access
Kim, Jaekwang, Yoon, Hyejin, Ramírez, Cristina M., Lee, Sang-Mi, Hoe, Hyang-Sook, Fernández-Hernando, Carlos, Kim, Jungsu·2012·Experimental Neurology

Abstract

ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) is a cholesterol transporter that transfers excess cellular cholesterol onto lipid-poor apolipoproteins. Given its critical role in cholesterol homeostasis, ABCA1 has been studied as a therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease. Transcriptional regulation of ABCA1 by liver X receptor has been well characterized. However, whether ABCA1 expression is regulated at the posttranscriptional level is largely unknown. Identification of a novel pathway that regulates ABCA1 expression may provide new strategy for regulating cholesterol metabolism and amyloid β (Aβ) levels. Since ABCA1 has an unusually long 3' untranslated region, we investigated whether microRNAs could regulate ABCA1 expression. We identified miR-106b as a novel regulator of ABCA1 expression and Aβ metabolism. miR-106b significantly decreased ABCA1 levels and impaired cellular cholesterol efflux in neuronal cells. Furthermore, miR-106b dramatically increased levels of secreted Aβ by increasing Aβ production and preventing Aβ clearance. Alterations in Aβ production and clearance were rescued by expression of miR-106b-resistant ABCA1. Taken together, our data suggest that miR-106b affects Aβ metabolism by suppressing ABCA1 expression.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

miR-106b directly represses ABCA1 translation via the ABCA1 3′ UTR, reducing cholesterol efflux and increasing secreted Aβ in neuronal cells. The Aβ increase reflects both enhanced APP processing toward Aβ production and impaired Aβ clearance, and both are rescued by miR-106b-resistant ABCA1.

Key findings

  • miR-106b significantly decreased ABCA1 protein levels by approximately 45% in Neuro2a cells, 40% in HepG2 cells, and 60% in rat primary hippocampal neurons, without affecting ABCA1 mRNA levels; it also reduced luciferase activity from a full-length human ABCA1 3′ UTR reporter.
  • miR-106b impaired apoA-I-mediated cholesterol efflux under basal conditions and with LXR agonist T0901317, and reduced FBS-mediated efflux without T0901317 but not with T0901317.
  • miR-106b significantly increased secreted Aβ and CTFβ without changing cellular APP or BACE1 levels; miR-106b-resistant ABCA1 ORF rescued the increases in Aβ and CTFβ.
  • miR-106b significantly reduced Aβ clearance in the presence of FBS, and this was rescued by miR-106b-resistant ABCA1 ORF; without FBS, miR-106b did not affect Aβ clearance. Separately, miR-106b decreased endogenous APP by ~40% (control 100±4.285% vs miR-106b 59.92±7.252%, p=0.0031, n=4).

Methods

  • Cell models: mouse neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells, human hepatocyte HepG2 cells, and E18–E19 rat primary hippocampal neurons; transient transfections with synthetic miR-106b, scrambled control, miR-106b inhibitor, APPsw, and ABCA1 ORF constructs.
  • Assays: qRT-PCR for ABCA1 mRNA; dual-luciferase reporter containing the full-length human ABCA1 3′ UTR; immunocytochemistry and MetaMorph quantification in primary neurons; 3H-cholesterol efflux to apoA-I or FBS; Western blot for ABCA1, APP, BACE1, CTFβ, and Aβ; Aβ secretion and Aβ40 clearance assays.
  • Statistics: normality and equal variance tests followed by two-tailed Student’s t-test; data shown as mean ± SEM; significance thresholds *p<0.05, p<0.01, *p<0.001.

Limitations

  • The paper states that it cannot address whether the reduction of miR-106b observed in AD cases is detrimental or beneficial, and that in vivo significance will need further study using animal models.
  • The paper states that the mechanism underlying altered Aβ clearance by miR-106b remains unclear and that further studies are warranted.
  • Evident from the text: the main findings are from cultured cells, with no in vivo manipulation of miR-106b; Aβ production experiments used an APP construct lacking its 3′ UTR to avoid APP-targeting confounds, and Aβ clearance impairment was FBS-dependent.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.expneurol.2011.11.010

Cites

62 of 62 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

32 Own result · 15 Own interpretation · 11 Partly supported · 6 No full text of the sources · 4 Supported so far · 2 Own method · 1 Supported · 1 Couldn’t confirm · 1 Sources not found · 1 Not checked yet · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 55 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 15
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 6
19 of 19
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Posttranscriptional regulation of ABCA1 is largely unknown.

    “However, whether ABCA1 expression is regulated at the posttranscriptional level is largely unknown.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The exact mechanisms underlying the regulation of Aβ metabolism by ABCA1 have not been clearly described.

    “However, the exact mechanisms underlying the regulation of Aβ metabolism by ABCA1 have not been clearly described.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    ABCA1 gene has an unusually long 3' UTR (>3.3 kilobases).

    “ABCA1 (ABCA1) gene has an unusually long 3′ UTR (> 3.3 kilobases), raising a possibility that it might be regulated by post-transcriptional regulations, such as miRNA-mediated gene repression.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Aβ peptides are generated by sequential cleavages of APP by BACE1 and γ-secretases.

    “Aβ peptides are generated by sequential cleavages of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by β-site APP-cleaving enzyme1 (BACE1) and γ-secretases.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Expression of miR-106b-resistant ABCA1 ORF does not affect other miR-106b target genes that could influence Aβ levels.

    “These results suggest that the increase of Aβ by miR-106b is likely due to a repression of ABCA1, rather than other targets.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The APP construct without 3′ UTR is not regulated by miR-106b or other miRNAs.

    “we used an APP construct without potential miRNA target sites (3′ UTR). Therefore, we were able to exclude a potentially confounding contribution by miRNA-mediated APP downregulation.”
6 of 6

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Metadata

Authors
Kim, J., Yoon, H., Ramírez, C. M., Lee, S.-M., Hoe, H.-S., Fernández-Hernando, C., & Kim, J.
Affiliations
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
  • Georgetown University Medical Center (US)
Venue
Experimental Neurology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-06
Volume
235
Issue
2
Pages
476-483
ISSN
0014-4886 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2065691532
Cited by
173
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 13
FWCI
5.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Experimental Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (submittedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion)
Funders
NIH
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biochemistry › Cholesterol and Lipid Metabolism
Keywords
miR-106b, ABCA1, cholesterol efflux, amyloid-beta, Alzheimer's disease, microRNA regulation, post-transcriptional regulation, 3' untranslated region, cholesterol homeostasis, amyloid-beta clearance, neurons
MeSH terms
Animals, Biological Transport, Active, Cells, Cultured, Cholesterol, Humans, Signal Transduction, Down-Regulation, Up-Regulation, Amyloid beta-Peptides, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters, MicroRNAs, Mice, Rats, Hep G2 Cells, ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1

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