Spatiotemporal Expression and Molecular Characterization of miR-344b and miR-344c in the Developing Mouse Brain

Neural Plast. 2016:2016:1951250. doi: 10.1155/2016/1951250. Epub 2016 Mar 1.

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA known to regulate brain development. The expression of two novel miRNAs, namely, miR-344b and miR-344c, was characterized during mouse brain developmental stages in this study. In situ hybridization analysis showed that miR-344b and miR-344c were expressed in the germinal layer during embryonic brain developmental stages. In contrast, miR-344b was not detectable in the adult brain while miR-344c was expressed exclusively in the adult olfactory bulb and cerebellar granular layer. Stem-loop RT-qPCR analysis of whole brain RNAs showed that expression of the miR-344b and miR-344c was increased as brain developed throughout the embryonic stage and maintained at adulthood. Further investigation showed that these miRNAs were expressed in adult organs, where miR-344b and miR-344c were highly expressed in pancreas and brain, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis suggested miR-344b and miR-344c targeted Olig2 and Otx2 mRNAs, respectively. However, luciferase experiments demonstrated that these miRNAs did not target Olig2 and Otx2 mRNAs. Further investigation on the locality of miR-344b and miR-344c showed that both miRNAs were localized in nuclei of immature neurons. In conclusion, miR-344b and miR-344c were expressed spatiotemporally during mouse brain developmental stages.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / embryology*
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism*
  • Neurons / metabolism*

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • Mirn344 microRNA, mouse