MicroRNA-101-2-5p targets the ApoB gene in the liver of chicken (Gallus Gallus)

Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) is a major protein component of plasma lipoproteins. It is involved in many important biological processes such as lipid transportation, enzyme activity regulation, and receptor recognition. Extensive studies have shown that the expression of ApoB is regulated at multiple levels. However, the regulation of ApoB expression by microRNAs (miRNAs) still remains unknown. In the present study, identified are miRNAs that are predicted to interact with ApoB in chicken. The predicted relationship between the identified miRNAs and ApoB was verified through dual luciferase reporter assay in chicken DF1 cells, and the effect of miRNAs on ApoB expression was analyzed in chicken embryo hepatocytes stimulated by 17β-estradiol. The results show that miR-101-2-5p was predicted to interact with ApoB. Dual luciferase reporter assay together with the miR-101-2-5p mimics study demostrate that ApoB is the target of miR-101-2-5p, which suppresses the expression of ApoB through binding with the 3'UTR of ApoB. Our experiments suggest that miR-101-2-5p might be involved in lipid metabolism through binding to the 3'UTR of ApoB in the liver of egg-laying chickens.