title: Genetic variation in hippocampal microRNA expression differences in C57BL/6 J X DBA/2 J (BXD) recombinant inbred mouse strains.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  miRNAs are short single-stranded non-coding RNAs involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation that play a major role in normal biological functions and diseases. Little is currently known about how expression of miRNAs is regulated. We surveyed variation in miRNA abundance in the hippocampus of mouse inbred strains, allowing us to take a genetic approach to the study of miRNA regulation, which is novel for miRNAs. The BXD recombinant inbred panel is a very well characterized genetic reference panel which allows quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of miRNA abundance and detection of correlates in a large store of brain and behavioural phenotypes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found five suggestive trans QTLs for the regulation of miRNAs investigated. Further analysis of these QTLs revealed two genes, Tnik and Phf17, under the miR-212 regulatory QTLs, whose expression levels were significantly correlated with miR-212 expression. We found that miR-212 expression is correlated with cocaine-related behaviour, consistent with a reported role for this miRNA in the control of cocaine consumption. miR-31 is correlated with anxiety and alcohol related behaviours. KEGG pathway analysis of each miRNA's expression correlates revealed enrichment of pathways including MAP kinase, cancer, long-term potentiation, axonal guidance and WNT signalling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The BXD reference panel allowed us to establish genetic regulation and characterize biological function of specific miRNAs. QTL analysis enabled detection of genetic loci that regulate the expression of these miRNAs. eQTLs that regulate miRNA abundance are a new mechanism by which genetic variation influences brain and behaviour. Analysis of one of these QTLs revealed a gene, Tnik, which may regulate the expression of a miRNA, a molecular pathway and a behavioural phenotype. Evidence of genetic covariation of miR-212 abundance and cocaine related behaviours is strongly supported by previous functional studies, demonstrating the value of this approach for discovery of new functional roles and downstream processes regulated by miRNA.
authors.affiliation: Mammalian Genetics Unit, Medical Research Council – Harwell Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: Jose L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Paya-Cano
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Vivek M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Philip
authors.forename: Elissa J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Chesler
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nietfeld
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lehrach
authors.forename: Leonard C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Schalkwyk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL / Q000235:genetics*; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C554518:MIRN212 microRNA, mouse; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C545105:TNIK protein, mouse