Metformin regulates inflammation and fibrosis in diabetic kidney disease through TNC/TLR4/NF-κB/miR-155-5p inflammatory loop

Figure 8 Silencing of Toll-like receptor-4 expression inhibits miR-155-5p expression. Rat mesangial cells (RMCs) were transfected with siRNA-TLR4 to silence Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) expression and siRNA-NC for 6 h, and the media were then replaced with normal-glucose (NG, 5.5 mmol/L glucose) or high-glucose (HG, 30 mmol/L glucose) medium for 24 h. ^aP < 0.05 compared with RMCs cultured with normal glucose concentrations; ^cP < 0.05 compared with RMCs cultured with high glucose concentrations. The expression of miR-155-5p was quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results were normalized to the expression of the U6 mRNA and are presented as the mean ± SD of six independent experiments. TLR4: Toll-like receptor-4; N: Normal control; NC: Negative control; H: High-glucose.