title: Expression analysis of microRNAs in murine cochlear explants.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play functional roles in sound transduction in cochlea. This study focuses on the validity of cochlear culture as an in vitro experimental tool, in view of miRNA expression. E15 cochleae were dissected and maintained in vitro for 48 h before extraction of miRNAs. MiRNA expression was comprehensively screened in explanted cochleae using a miRNA array that covers 380 miRNAs. A strong correlation was observed between expression levels of miRNAs in in vitro and in in vivo cochleae. Levels of 43 miRNAs were altered in vitro and these changes were reproducible over three trials. These findings indicate that in vitro miRNA profiling is a viable method for analysis of gene expression and action of chemical compounds on cochleae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Misato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: Yukihide
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Kunihiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sugaya
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nishizaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003051:Cochlea / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs