Fig. 3.
The miR-22 inhibitor treats alcoholic steatosis by inducing FGF21-mediated AMPK activation.
Three-month-old C57BL/6 male mice were fed a Liber DeCarli diet supplemented with and without 5% alcohol for 3 weeks. The alcohol-fed mice were treated with miR-22 inhibitor (1×109 PFU, via tail vein, 3 times over 10 days) or adenovirus serving as a negative control. All the mice were euthanized 1 day after the last viral injection. The same diet was given during the interventions. (A) Representative H&E-stained liver sections; (B) steatosis scores; (C) hepatic cholesterol level; (D) hepatic triglyceride level; and (E) hepatic miR-22 as well as the indicated mRNA and protein levels in each group. Hepatic fat content was scored as 0 (<5%), 1 (5–33%), 2 (34–66%), and 3 (>67%). Scale bar in the micrograph of liver section indicates 100 μm. Data are shown as mean ± SD. One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s t est. ∗p <0.05, ∗∗p <0.01, ∗∗∗p <0.001 (n = 4–12 for each group).