The Expression of MicroRNA and microRNA Clusters in the Aging Heart
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ABSTRACT: Adult aging is a complex biological process associated with altered gene expression and a decline in physiological performance. The microRNAs have been implicated in cardiac development, cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. However, the impact of adult aging on cardiac expression of both miRNA guide strand (miR) and passenger strand (miR*), as well as miRNA clusters have not been well established. We explored the expression profile of both miR and miR* in the heart. We found that 65 miRNAs were differentially expressed in old versus young adult heart; approximately half of them were clustered miRNAs that were distributed in 11 miRNA clusters. Each miRNA cluster contains from 2 to as many as 71 miRNA genes. The majority of the clusters displayed unified expression, with most cluster members within a cluster being either increased or decreased together, suggesting that most clusters are regulated by a common signaling mechanism and that the combined expression of multiple miRNA genes in a cluster could pose an impact on a broad range of targets during aging. We also found age-related changes in the expression of miR*s. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that miR-21 and miR-21* had their own silencing targets. The expression of both miR and miR* correlated with that of pri-miRNA transcript over the time course from development and maturation through adult aging. Age-related changes in the expression of Ago1 and Ago2 proteins in the heart were also observed. Our data suggest that a concert of effects, including transcriptional regulation of pri-miRNA transcript and altered expression of Argonaut proteins, contribute to age-related changes in the expression of both miR and miR* strands during adult aging. The major changes occurred later in life, from middle to old age. It is likely that the expression of both miR and miR* is regulated by transcription and Ago1 and Ago2 proteins.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE32935 | GEO | 2012/08/20
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA146567
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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