Intranasal Administration of Agomir-let-7i Improves Cognitive Function in Mice with Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Overcoming the lack of drugs for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) has long been a major challenge for the pharmaceutical industry. MiRNAs have emerged as potential targets for progress assessment and intervention against TBI. The brain-enriched miRNA let-7i has been proposed as an ideal candidate biomarker for TBI, but its regulatory roles in brain injury remain largely unknown. Here, we find that the expression of let-7i is significantly downregulated in the early stages of a hippocampal stab wound injury. The noninvasive intranasal administration of let-7i agomir significantly improves cognitive function and suppresses neuroinflammation, glial scar formation, and neuronal apoptosis in TBI mice. Mechanically, STING is a direct downstream target of let-7i after brain injury. Furthermore, the intranasal delivery of let-7i agomir can also effectively inhibit STING and is beneficial for inflammation resolution and neuronal survival in a mouse model of pial vessel disruption stroke. Consequently, let-7i agomir is a promising candidate for clinical application as a chemically engineered oligonucleotides-based therapeutic for brain injury.

Keywords

• traumatic brain injury
• let-7i
• learning and memory
• agomir
• <i>STING</i>