Co-occurrence of these disorders appears to potentiate greater liver injury than either alone; the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study we have investigated the regulation of hepatic microRNA (miRNA) expression in a mouse model of iron

and fat co-mediated liver injury. Methods: Hfe-knockout Barasertib concentration mice were fed either control or high calorie diets. Mice were sacrificed after 20 weeks of treatment. Small RNA was extracted from liver tissue and profiled using next-generation miRNA-sequencing and differentially expressed miRNAs identified. mRNA-seq was available from these same mice, and was utilized to perform combination analysis (which identifies which differentially expressed mRNAs are potential targets of differentially expressed miRNAs) and correlation analysis (which compares the level of expression of all identified miRNAs with the levels of expression of all of their potential target mRNAs) to identify miRNA-mRNA pairs of interest. Results: 39 differentially

expressed miRNAs were identified. Of these 10 have published links to relevant Lonafarnib cost pathologies including miRNAs-190 and -199 which have

both been linked to hepatic fibrosis, selleckchem miRNA-223 which has been linked to hepatocellular carcinoma and obesity-associated adipose tissue inflammation, and miRNA-103 which has been linked to glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. Combination analysis identified 49 miRNA-mRNA pairs in which both the miRNA and its target mRNA were differentially expressed including miRNA-199a-3p for which nine of its target mRNAs are differentially expressed. Correlation analysis identified 424 miRNA-mRNA pairs with a Pearson correlation coefficient > ±0.8 and p < 0.05. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a dysregulation in hepatic miRNA expression in the setting of combined iron overload and steatosis. Ten miRNAs are identified which are linked to relevant pathologies supporting the validity of this study, and a further 29 miRNAs which have not previously been liked to either hepatic or lipid pathology where also identified. Further, the integration of mRNA data has identified potential mechanisms of action for several of the differentially expressed miRNAs.