Compositions and methods for the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory disorders and fibrotic disease

1. A method for reducing protein production from a COX-2 mRNA molecule in a lung fibroblast comprising administering an effective amount of miR-146a or a mimic of miR-146a to said fibroblast, said miR-146a or mimic hybridizing to a 3′ end of said COX-2 mRNA, thereby inhibiting COX-2 protein production from said mRNA in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, said miR-146a or a mimic of miR-146a being administered via a route selected from the group consisting of inhalation, or intranasal administration.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said COX-2 mRNA is degraded.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein degradation of said COX-2 mRNA is correlated with decreased PGE 2 production.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein degradation of said COX-2 mRNA is correlated with increased fibroblast repair function.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein said lung fibroblast is present in a patient having chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD).

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising assessing said patient for an alleviation of COPD symptoms.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said miR-146a or mimic is present in an aerosolized formulation for administration via inhalation.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said miR-146a or mimic is encapsulated in a liposome or microvessicle.

9. The method of claim 7 , said method comprising administration of at least one anti-inflammatory agent.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said administration results in reduced protein production encoded by at least one other mRNA selected from the group consisting of Smad2, Smad3, Smad4, Cox-1, cPLA2 and mPGES1.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising administration of at least one miRNA, or mimic thereof, selected from the group consisting of miR-122, miR-143, miR-144, miR-101, miR-16, miR-26, miR-138, and miR-24.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one miRNA is miR-144 or mimic thereof.