Trimethylamine-N-oxide, a New Risk Factor for Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Changes the Expression of miRNA-34a, and miRNA-122 in the Fatty Liver Cell Model

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a multifactorial disorder with complicated pathophysiology ranging from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis. Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) production is believed to be correlated with choline deficiency. This study investigated the expression of miRNA-34a, miRNA-122, and miRNA-192 in the fatty liver cell model treated with different concentrations of TMAO. A fatty liver cell model was developed by exposing HepG2 cells to a mixture of palmitate and oleate in a ratio of 1:2 at a final concentration of 1200 μM for 24 h. The confirmed fatty liver cells were treated with 37.5, 75, 150, and 300 μM of TMAO for 24 h. RT-qPCR was used to quantify the expression of microRNAs in a cellular model. The cellular expression of all microRNAs was significantly higher in treated fatty liver cells compared to normal HepG2 cells (P < 0.05). Only 75 and 150 µM of TMAO significantly increased the expression of miRNA-34a and miRNA-122 compared to both fatty and normal control cells (P < 0.05). Our results provided an experimental documentation for the potential effect of TMAO to change the expression of miR-34a and miR-22 as a mechanism for contributing to the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.