Epigenetic and really nutrigenomics: 6 week study of 3 gram omega 3 intake induced methylation changes. Get that? Only 6 weeks of omega 3 intake induces a change in genetic expression.
Plant miRNA miR168a was found to present in the sera of mammals including human and regulate human gene LDLRAP1
plant miRNAs can present within human circulating system through dietary intake and regulate human gene expression emerged. Broccoli sourced miR159 was found in human sera and proved to inhibit breast cancer growth through targeting the gene TCF7
This miRNA, with same 6mer and 7mer-A1 target seed sequence as hsa-miR-4259 and hsa-miR-4715-5p, was predicted to target human JAK-STAT signaling pathway gene SPRY4 and transcription regulation genes through miRTar
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a major family of small RNAs, are ∼23 nt-long single strands of RNA that bind to mRNA transcripts to inhibit their translation
A recent study by Zhang et al. reported that plant-derived miRNAs can be found in human serum.
The group demonstrates that the plant miRNA miR168 may be taken up through dietary intake to inhibit the expression of its target low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 in the liver21, providing the first evidence that miRNA in food may influence gene expression in mammalian organs.
A more recent finding by the same group shows that a plant miRNA from honeysuckle is able to inhibit Influenza A replication22, indicating that plant miRNAs may be useful for treating human diseases.
We found that plant miR159 could be detected in human sera and its levels were inversely correlated with BC incidence and progression.
We further identified TCF7 as a mammalian target for miR159 and showed the anti-proliferative function of miR159 in BC cells using in vitro and in vivo models, demonstrating for the first time that a plant miRNA is able to influence BC cell growth.
certain dietary miRNAs from plants and other species may serve as highly affordable and powerful means of treatment with minimal inconvenience to patients.
miR159 which (using a synthetic mimic) targets TCF7 to inhibit the proliferation of cells whose growth is dependent on TCF7 such as the BC cells MDA-MB-231
our study using a BC model clearly indicates the anti-tumor effect of orally administered synthetic miR159 in its naturally existing form with the plant-specific 2'-O-methylation, suggesting the feasibility of using synthetic forms of plant miRNAs as dietary supplements in the treatment of human cancers, including those outside of the GI track