Exogenous miRNAs from Moringa oleifera Lam. recover a dysregulated lipid metabolism

Valentina Roglia; Marina Potestà; Alessandra Minchella; Stefania Paola Bruno; Roberta Bernardini; Daniele Lettieri-Barbato; Federico Iacovelli; Angelo Gismondi; Katia Aquilano; Antonella Canini; Rosario Muleo; Vittorio Colizzi; Maurizio Mattei; Antonella Minutolo; Carla Montesano

doi:10.3389/fmolb.2022.1012359

Exogenous miRNAs from Moringa oleifera Lam. recover a dysregulated lipid metabolism

Front Mol Biosci. 2022 Nov 17:9:1012359. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.1012359. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Valentina Roglia¹, Marina Potestà^{1

2}, Alessandra Minchella¹, Stefania Paola Bruno^{3

4}, Roberta Bernardini⁵, Daniele Lettieri-Barbato^{1

6}, Federico Iacovelli¹, Angelo Gismondi¹, Katia Aquilano¹, Antonella Canini¹, Rosario Muleo⁷, Vittorio Colizzi^{1

2}, Maurizio Mattei^{2

5}, Antonella Minutolo^{1

8}, Carla Montesano^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
² UNESCO Interdisciplinary Chair in Biotechnology and Bioethics, Rome, Italy.
³ Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IRCCS), Rome, Italy.
⁴ Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Rome, Italy.
⁵ Interdepartmental Center for Animal Technology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
⁶ Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
⁷ Department of Agricultural and Forestry Science, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy.
⁸ Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

A balanced diet is critical for human health, and edible plants play an important role in providing essential micronutrients as well as specific microRNAs (miRNAs) that can regulate human gene expression. Here we present the effects of Moringa oleifera (MO) miRNAs (mol-miRs) on lipid metabolism. Through in silico studies we identified the potential genes involved in lipid metabolism targeted by mol-miRs. To this end, we tested the efficacy of an aqueous extract of MO seeds (MOES), as suggested in traditional African ethnomedicine, or its purified miRNAs. The biological properties of MO preparations were investigated using a human derived hepatoma cell line (HepG2) as a model. MOES treatment decreased intracellular lipid accumulation and induced apoptosis in HepG2. In the same cell line, transfection with mol-miRs showed similar effects to MOES. Moreover, the effect of the mol-miR pool was investigated in a pre-obese mouse model, in which treatment with mol-miRs was able to prevent dysregulation of lipid metabolism.

Keywords: Moringa oleifera Lam; cross-kingdom interactions; inflammatioin; lipid metabolism; plant miRNAs.