The effect of crocin on miRNA-106a and miRNA-146a expression levels in lung tissue of ovalbumin sensitized mice

Abstract

To date, there are some reports related to efficiency of crocin in asthmatic conditions in animal models. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been discovered yet. Due to the critical role of miRNA in the asthma pathology, we tried to investigated the transcription levels of GATA-3, T-bet miRNA155 and miRNA-133 in the pulmonary tissue of mice challenged with ovalbumin. Methods Mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (each in 8) as follows: Control; Asthmatic, Asthmatic + Cro 25, Asthmatic + Cro 50 group, and Asthmatic + Cro100 groups. Crocin was administrated intaperitoneally at doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kbw for 5 consecutive days. One day after asthma induction, animals were euthanized and lungs sampled for pathological and gene expression analysis. Results Data showed pathological remodeling in lung tissues of asthmatic mice coincided with up-regulation of miRNA-106a; miRNA-146a; GATA-3 and down-regulation of T-bet compared to the control group. Injection of crocin in doses of 50 and 100 mg/kbw improved the levels of these parameters. No statistically significant differences were not obtained in asthmatic mice injected by 25 mg/kbw crocin in comparison with control group.