STAT1 Regulates MD-2 Expression in Monocytes of Sepsis via miR-30a

Sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. MD-2 is a 25-kDa lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-binding protein that forms a heterodimer with TLR42, but its regulation in sepsis is not clear. This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanism of regulation of MD-2. Inflammation cytokines in monocytes were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR and ELISA, and it was found that IL-10 was elevated significantly in the monocytes with LPS treatment. And then, when the cells were treated with IL-10, STAT1 was activated in the monocytes using Western blotting. It was also found that STAT1 could enhance MD-2 expression on transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Finally, miR-30a was predicted to the molecule that may regulate STAT1 expression. It was verified that STAT1 was a new target gene of miR-30a. miR-30a could inhibit IL-10-induced cytokine release by targeting STAT1–MD-2 in monocytes. In conclusion, this study for the first time demonstrated that miR-30a inhibits MD-2 expression by targeting of STAT1 in human monocytes.