Differential expression of miR-let7a in hair follicle cycle of Liaoning cashmere goats and identification of its targets

In order to improve the production and quality of Chinese cashmere, the research of hair follicle development has aroused more and more attention; the regulation mechanism of miRNA in hair follicle development has become a hot spot. A survey of transcriptome profiling screened 10 hair follicle-related miRNAs that were differentially expressed, including miR-let7a. In this study, the expression of miR-let7a was lower in anagen of hair follicle of cashmere goats than that in catagen of hair follicle of cashmere goats (p < 0.01). Results were in accordance with transcriptome data. The expression patterns of miR-let7a target genes (IGF-1R, C-myc, and FGF5) were verified by qRT-PCR, which were consistent with the results of Western blot and showed a downward trend. The dual-luciferase reporter gene system was used to verify the correlation between the expression of miR-let7a and its target genes, and it showed that miR-let7a negatively correlates with C-myc and FGF5. Present study offers new information on miRNAs and their related target genes in the regulation of hair follicle development mechanism.