Saorilao-4 decoction alters the miRNA regulatory network in pulmonary fibrosis

Objective: To explore the effect of Mongolian medicine Saorilao-4 (SRL-4) decoction on the conserved and specific miRNAs and target genes of the gene regulatory network (GRN) involved in pulmonary fibrosis. Method: Healthy adult male SPF SD rats were randomly allocated into 4 groups. Total RNA was isolated and extracted from the lung tissues for transcriptome sequencing. The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between the different groups were screened using the difference analysis software DESeq2, and the prediction of their target genes were carried out using miRanda. Gene Ontology (GO) as well as Kyoto Encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analyses were conducted to identify the biological functions of the target genes. Results: There were 16 DEMs in the IPF model group, whereas SRL-4 treatment resulted in 10 DEMs relative to the untreated model group. GO analysis showed that the target genes of DEMs inSRL-4 groups were enriched in 52 GO items. In addition, KEGG analysis showed that these target genes were enriched in 182 signaling pathways, and the largest number of genes were related to purine metabolism pathway. Conclusion: The progression of pulmonary fibrosis and SRL-4 anti-pulmonary fibrosis are significantly impacted by miR-433-3p, novel 202, and miR-150-3p.