Abstract
High plasma cholesterol levels are a major risk factor for atherosclerosis. Plasma cholesterol can be reduced by inhibiting lipoprotein production; however, this is associated with steatosis. Previously we showed that lentivirally mediated hepatic expression of microRNA-30c (miR-30c) reduced hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in mice without causing hepatosteatosis. Because viral therapy would be formidable, we examined whether a miR-30c mimic can be used to mitigate hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis without inducing steatosis. Delivery of a miR-30c mimic to the liver diminished diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in C57BL/6J mice. Reductions in plasma cholesterol levels were significantly correlated with increases in hepatic miR-30c levels. Long term dose escalation studies showed that miR-30c mimic caused sustained reductions in plasma cholesterol with no obvious side effects. Furthermore, miR-30c mimic significantly reduced hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in Apoe−/− mice. Mechanistic studies showed that miR-30c mimic had no effect on LDL clearance but reduced lipoprotein production by down-regulating microsomal triglyceride transfer protein expression. MiR-30c had no effect on fatty acid oxidation but reduced lipid synthesis. Additionally, whole transcriptome analysis revealed that miR-30c mimic significantly down-regulated hepatic lipid synthesis pathways. Therefore, miR-30c lowers plasma cholesterol and mitigates atherosclerosis by reducing microsomal triglyceride transfer protein expression and lipoprotein production and avoids steatosis by diminishing lipid syntheses. It mitigates atherosclerosis most likely by reducing lipoprotein production and plasma cholesterol. These findings establish that increasing hepatic miR-30c levels is a viable treatment option for reducing hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.