Spirulina platensis Mitigates the Inhibition of Selected miRNAs that Promote Inflammation in HAART-Treated HepG2 Cells

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the treatment of HIV/AIDS has recently gained popularity. In addition, the significant role of microRNA expression in HIV pathogenesis cannot be overlooked; hence the need to explore the mechanisms of microRNA expression in the presence of HAART and Spirulina platensis (SP) in HepG2 cells. This study investigates the biochemical mechanisms of microRNA expression in HepG2 cells in the presence of HAART, SP, and the potential synergistic effect of HAART–SP. A 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to determine cell viability following SP treatment. The cellular redox status was assessed using the quantification of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation, and a lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. The fluorometric JC-1 assay was used to determine mitochondrial polarisation. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was also employed for micro-RNA and gene expressions. The results show that MiR-146a (p < 0.0001) and miR-155 (p < 0.0001) levels increased in SP-treated cells. However, only miR-146a (p < 0.0001) in HAART–SP indicated an increase, while miR-155 (p < 0.0001) in HAART–SP treatment indicated a significant decreased expression. Further inflammation analysis revealed that Cox-1 mRNA expression was reduced in SP-treated cells (p = 0.4129). However, Cox-1 expression was significantly increased in HAART–SP-treated cells (p < 0.0001). The investigation revealed that HepG2 cells exposed to HAART–SP treatment showed a significant decrease in Cox-2 (p < 0.0001) expression. mRNA expression also decreased in SP-treated cells (p < 0.0001); therefore, SP potentially controls inflammation by regulating microRNA expressions. Moreover, the positive synergistic effect is indicated by normalised intracellular ROS levels (p < 0.0001) in the HAART–SP treatment. We hereby recommend further investigation on the synergistic roles of SP and HAART in the expression of microRNA with more focus on inflammatory and oxidative pathways.