The Non-coding MicroRNA-223 is a Promising Biomarker of Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

Renal diseases are consecutive to a deregulation of gene expression regulated by non-coding RNAs. These non-coding RNAs were discovered at the turn of the 21st century when it was established that post-transcriptional regulation was performed through small non-coding RNAs, known as microRNAs (miRNAs). Up to 3,000 miRNAs are expressed by human cells. They are small, single-stranded nucleic acids, which trigger translational repression of mRNA by base-pairing with the 3′ untranslated region of their mRNA targets. In addition to miRNA regulation, it was also demonstrated that 60,000 long non-coding RNAs are expressed in the human cell and that they are able to regulate gene expression at all levels. The roles of these various RNA families are just beginning to be understood in the field of nephrology. In the past decade, the authors and various others have published that several miRNAs are deregulated during the onset of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and are associated with cardiovascular damage. This review focuses on miRNA-223 (miR-223) as its expression is increased in vivo in the large vessels of a mouse model of CKD, whereas it is diminished in the serum of both mice and human patients with CKD. In patients, miR-223 expression was correlated with all-cause mortality, as well as cardiovascular and renal events. Molecular clues were given by a multi-omics approach, indicating that miR-223 modulates gene regulation at all levels including mRNA expression, protein amounts, and metabolic molecule accumulation. miR-223 is thus a potential target to prevent or treat complications of CKD pathogenesis.