LncRNA Gm5091 alleviates alcoholic hepatic fibrosis by sponging miR-27b/23b/24 in mice.

The regulatory roles of lncRNAs in the development of alcoholic hepatic fibrosis (AHF) have not been revealed. Here, we found lncRNA Gm5091 was being downregulated in mouse hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) during AHF. Then, Gm5091 was, respectively, overexpressed and knocked down in alcohol-treated primary HSCs. Our results showed that Gm5091 negatively regulated cell migration, ROS content, IL-1 secretion, and expression of Collagen I and markers of HSC activation including -SMA and Desmin. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis showed that Gm5091 sequence contained binding sites of miR-27b, miR-23b, and miR-24, and we proved that miR-27b/23b/24 all bound to Gm5091 by using RNA pull-down assay. Full-length Gm5091 could decrease the miR-27b/23b/24 levels, but the truncated Gm5091 deleting the binding sites could not. Finally, we confirmed that full-length Gm5091 could alleviate AHF in vivo, but the truncated Gm5091 could not. In conclusion, lncRNA Gm5091 alleviates mouse AHF by sponging miR-27b/23b/24.