Silencing of liver-specific microRNA-122 aggravates acute but not chronic hepatotoxin-induced liver injury

Hepatic inflammation and fibrogenesis represent complex responses to liver injury. Recent studies have identified micro RNAs as novel gene regulators. MiR-122 is a liver-specific micro RNA shown to be differentially expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma [1, 2]. To determine the role of miR-122 during experimental liver injury, we now studied the effects of an LNA-antimiR oligonucleotide (antimiR-122) that effectively antagonizes miR-122 and leads to derepression of its target genes [3]. We analyzed 48 female C57BL/6J mice, 24 mice in an acute CCl4-induced liver injury model (three i.p. injections @ 0.7mg/kg ever…