title: Identification of microRNA-18a as a novel regulator of the insulin-like growth factor-1 in the proliferation and regeneration of deer antler.
abstract: To investigate the effect of miR-18a on the regulation of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) during growth of antlers in sika deer, miRNA Chip analysis, Target Scan and real-time PCR analysis were used to identify miRNAs that bind to the 3'-UTR of IGF-1. An miR-18a mimic was transfected into antler cartilage cells and the expression levels were quantified by real-time PCR. Dual luciferase assays revealed that miR-18a binds to the 3'-UTR of the IGF-1 gene thus indicating this to be a target gene regulated by miR-18a. MTT assays and cell-cycle analyses confirmed that miR-18a significantly inhibited proliferation of cartilage cells. In contrast, transfection of miR-18a inhibitors increased proliferation. Furthermore, Western blot analysis showed that over-expression of miR-18a down-regulated IGF-1 protein levels while IGF-1 expression was increased after transfection of miR-18a inhibitors. Thus, miR-1 down-regulated IGF-1 expression thus implicating miR-18a as an important regulator of antler proliferation.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Jilin Agriculture University, Changchun, 130118, Jilin, China, huwei6787@163.com.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Mu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xingyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D000818:Animals; D000999:Antlers / Q000254:growth & development*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003670:Deer; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012038:Regeneration; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts / Q000378:metabolism; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D035683:MicroRNAs; D013002:Somatomedins; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; C022616:thiazolyl blue