Effect of miR-21 on Renal Fibrosis by Regulating MMP-9 and TIMP1 in kk-ay Diabetic Nephropathy Mice

MicroRNAs (miRs) play important roles in initiation and progression of many pathologic processes. However, the roles of miRs in diabetic nephropathy remain unclear. This study was to determine whether miR-21 was involved in diabetic nephropathy and to explore the relationship between miR-21 and MMP9/TIMP1 expression in diabetic nephropathy. In situ hybridization studies showed that miR-21 was primarily localized and distributed in cortical glomerular and renal tubular cells in diabetic kk-ay kidney. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that the expression of miR-21 was significantly increased in kk-ay mice, compared with control C57BL mice. Interestingly, miR-21 expression positively correlated with urine albumin creatine ratio (ACR), TIMP1, collagen IV (ColIV), and fibronectin (FN); while negatively correlated with creatine clearance ratio (Ccr) and MMP-9 protein. Importantly, antagomir-21 not only ameliorated Ccr and ACR but also decreased TIMP1, ColIV, and FN proteins. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that miR-21 contributes to renal fibrosis by mediating MMP9/TIMP1 and that inhibition of miR-21 may be a novel target for diabetic nephropathy.