Identification of altered microRNAs in retinas of mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy

AIM: To identify disease-related miRNAs in retinas of mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR), and to explore their potential roles in retinal pathological neovascularization. METHODS: The retinal miRNA expression profile in mice with OIR and room air controls at postnatal day 17 (P17) were determined through miRNA microarray analysis. Several miRNAs were significantly up- and down-regulated in retinas of mice with OIR compared to controls by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Two databases including Targetscan7.1 and MirdbV5 were used to predict target genes that associated with those significantly altered miRNAs in retinas of mice with OIR. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were also conducted to identify possible biological functions of the target genes. RESULTS: In comparison with room air controls, 3 and 8 miRNAs were significantly up- and down-regulated, respectively, in retinas of mice with OIR. The qRT-PCR data confirmed that mmu-miR-350-3p and mmu-miR-202-3p were significantly up-regulated, while mmu-miR-711 and mmu-miR-30c-1-3p were significantly down-regulated in mice with OIR compared to controls. GO analysis demonstrated that the identified target genes were related to functions such as cellular macromolecule metabolic process. KEGG pathway analysis showed a group of pathways, such as Wnt signaling pathway, transcriptional misregulation in cancer, Mucin type O-glycan biosynthesis, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway might be involved in pathological process of retinal neovascularization. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the differentially expressed miRNAs in retinas of mice with OIR might provide potential therapeutic targets for treating retinal neovascularization.