Myocardial Fibrosis Induced by Exposure to Subclinical Lipopolysaccharide Is Associated with Decreased miR-29c and Enhanced NOX2 Expression in Mice

Abstract

Recurrent exposure to subclinical LPS induces cardiac fibrosis after 2-4 weeks. Early changes 3 days after LPS were decreased miR-29c and increased NOX2 and TIMP1, which persisted at 1 and 2 weeks, along with widespread activation of fibrosis-related genes. Decreased miR-29c and increased NOX2, which induce cardiac fibrosis in other conditions, may uniquely mediate LPS-induced cardiac fibrosis.