Biomedical Research

Aims: This study is to investigate the role of GATA-3 and miR-135a in immunosuppression induced by exercise.

Methods: Rats received load exercise to induce immunosuppression. ELISA was used to detect the change of testosterone, cortisol, IFN-γ and IL-4. The spleen index and thymus index was calculated. The qRT-PCR and Western Blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein change of GATA-3 in spleen tissue. The upstream microRNA for GATA-3 was predicted using bioinformatics. The miRNA-135a expression change was detected in spleen tissue using qRT-PCR. The dual luciferase assay was used to identify whether GATA-3 was the target gene for miRNA-135a.

Results: Compared with control group, testosterone and IFN-γ significantly decreased while IL-4 significantly increased in model group (P<0.05). The spleen index significantly decreased in model group (p<0.05). The mRNA and protein of GATA-3 significantly increased in spleen tissue and miRNA-135a significantly decreased in model group (P<0.05). While there were no significant difference of thymus index between model and control group. Dual luciferase assay showed GATA-3 was the target gene for miRNA-135a.

Conclusions: The significantly increased mRNA and protein of GATA-3 may be related to the down regulation of miRNA-135a. GATA-3 and mir-135a may play a role in the progression of exercise-induced immunosuppression.

Author(s): Yujun Zhang, Xuewen Tian, Lei Geng, Qinglu Wang
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