Description
In this study, we analyzed the role of miR-21 in liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PHx) in chronic ethanol-treated rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a liquid diet containing 36% of total calories derived from ethanol for 5 weeks; corresponding pair-fed calorie-matched controls were fed diets in which ethanol calories were replaced by carbohydrate. After 5 weeks, locked nucleic acid (LNA)-modified oligo antisense to miR-21 (AM21, Exiqon, Vedbaek, Denmark) was used to inhibit miRNA in vivo, and rats were subjected to 70% PHx. Liver samples were collected at 24h after the surgery. The excised liver samples at t=0 served as within-animal controls. Rat Gene 2.0 ST (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) arrayswere used to obtain global gene expression data from pooled liver samples (pools of 3 or 4 biological replicates/array, total 8 arrays).