cells Review Role of MicroRNA in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Clinical Evidence and the Development of Preclinical Animal Models Kanika Suri 1, Jason A. Bubier 2 , Michael V. Wiles 2, Leonard D. Shultz 2, Mansoor M. Amiji 3 and Vishnu Hosur 2,* 1 Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
[email protected] 2 The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA;
[email protected] (J.A.B.);
[email protected] (M.V.W.);
[email protected] (L.D.S.) 3 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: The dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) is implicated in cancer, inflammation, cardio- vascular disorders, drug resistance, and aging. While most researchers study miRNA’s role as a biomarker, for example, to distinguish between various sub-forms or stages of a given disease of interest, research is also ongoing to utilize these small nucleic acids as therapeutics. An example of a common pleiotropic disease that could benefit from miRNA-based therapeutics is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is characterized by chronic inflammation of the small and large intestines. Due to complex interactions between multiple factors in the etiology of IBD, development of ther- Citation: Suri, K.; Bubier, J.A.; apies that effectively maintain remission for this disease is a significant challenge. In this review, Wiles, M.V.; Shultz, L.D.; Amiji, M.M.; we discuss the role of dysregulated miRNA expression in the context of clinical ulcerative colitis Hosur, V. Role of MicroRNA in (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD)—the two main forms of IBD—and the various preclinical mouse Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Clinical Evidence and the Development of models of IBD utilized to validate the therapeutic potential of targeting these miRNA.