Extracellular miRNAs in the serum and feces of mice exposed to high‑dose radiation

Mitsuru Chiba; Haruka Uehara; Haruka Kuwata; Ikumi Niiyama

doi:10.3892/br.2024.1744

Extracellular miRNAs in the serum and feces of mice exposed to high‑dose radiation

Biomed Rep. 2024 Feb 1;20(3):55. doi: 10.3892/br.2024.1744. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Mitsuru Chiba^{1

2}, Haruka Uehara³, Haruka Kuwata³, Ikumi Niiyama³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioscience and Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan.
² Research Center for Biomedical Sciences, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan.
³ Department of Medical Technology, School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan.

Abstract

Exposure to high-dose radiation causes life-threatening intestinal damage. Histopathology is the most accurate method of judging the extent of intestinal damage following death. However, it is difficult to predict the extent of intestinal damage. The present study investigated extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) in serum and feces using a radiation-induced intestinal injury mouse model. A peak of 25-200 nucleotide small RNAs was detected in mouse serum and feces by bioanalyzer, indicating the presence of miRNAs. Microarray analysis detected four miRNAs expressed in the small intestine and increased by >2-fold in serum and 19 in feces following 10 Gy radiation exposure. Increased miR-375-3p in both serum and feces suggests leakage due to radiation-induced intestinal injury and may be a candidate for high-dose radiation biomarkers.

Keywords: X-ray; feces; intestinal injury; microRNA-375-3p; serum.

Grants and funding

Funding: The present study was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (grant nos. 21H04844 and 17K19779).