Abstract: Objective To estimate the effect of miR-147 on innate immune response of macrophages from aging mice. Methods The levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA in serum of young and aging mice injected intraperitoneally with LPS. The expression of miR-147 was detected by real-time quantitive PCR (q-PCR) in LPS-treated peritoneal macrophage of mice. The level of IL-6 and TNF-α was detected in mouse peritoneal macrophages transfecetd with mimics or inhibitor of miR-147. Results The level of proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 and TNF-α were higher in the aging mice than that in the young group (P< 0.05). The level of miR-147 increased significantly in mouse peritoneal macrophages from the young mice compared to the aging mice (P<0.05). Overexpression or down-regulation of miR-147 decreased or increased the level of IL-6 and TNF-α dramatically in LPS-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages (P<0.05). Conclusions The change of miR-147 level in peritoneal macrophages from aging mice may be an important mechanisms leading to disorder of proinflammatory cytokine production in aging mice.

Key words: miR-147, macrophage, old age, innate immunity, LPS