Serum and Lipoprotein Particle miRNA Profile in Uremia Patients

microRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators of messenger RNA (mRNA), and transported through the whole organism by—but not limited to—lipoprotein particles. Here, we address the miRNA profile in serum and lipoprotein particles of healthy individuals in comparison with patients with uremia. Moreover, we quantitatively determined the cellular lipoprotein-particle-uptake dependence on the density of lipoprotein particle receptors and present a method for enhancement of the transfer efficiency. We observed a significant increase of the cellular miRNA level using reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles artificially loaded with miRNA, whereas incubation with native HDL particles yielded no measurable effect. Thus, we conclude that no relevant effect of lipoprotein-particle-mediated miRNA-transfer exists under in vivo conditions though the miRNA profile of lipoprotein particles can be used as a diagnostic marker.