This study aimed at identifying potential microRNAs that modulate hepatic lipid droplets (LD) through targeting the Tail interacting protein of 47kDa (TIP47) in HCV infection.Bioinformatics analysis revealed that miR-148a and miR-30a potentially target TIP47. Expression profiling showed that both microRNAs were downregulated, while TIP47 was upregulated in liver biopsies of HCV-infected patients. Forcing the expression of both microRNAs in JFH-I infected, oleic acid-treated Huh7 cells, significantly suppressed TIP47 expression and reduced cellular LDs with marked decrease in viral RNA. This study shows that miR-148a and miR-30a, regulate TIP47 expression and LDs in HCV infected cells.
