title: Elevation of Circulating miR-210-3p in High-Altitude Hypoxic Environment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The induction of miR-210-3p, a master hypoxamir, is a consistent feature of the hypoxic response in both normal and malignant cells. However, whether miR-210-3p acts as a circulating factor in response to a hypoxic environment remains unknown. The current study aimed to examine the effect of a high-altitude hypoxic environment on circulating miR-210-3p.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined and compared the levels of miR-210-3p using TaqMan-based qRT-PCR in both peripheral blood cells and plasma from 84 ethnic Chinese Tibetans residing at 3560 m, 46 newly arrived migrant Han Chinese (Tibet Han) and 82 Han Chinese residing at 8.9 m (Nanjing Han). Furthermore, we analyzed the correlations of miR-210-3p with hematological indices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The relative concentrations of miR-210-3p to internal reference U6 in blood cells were significantly higher in the Tibet Han group (1.01 ± 0.11, P < 0.001) and in the Tibetan group (1.17 ± 0.09, P < 0.001) than in the Nanjing Han group (0.51 ± 0.04). The absolute concentrations of plasma miR-210-3p were also markedly elevated in the Tibet Han group (503.54 ± 42.95 fmol/L, P = 0.004) and in the Tibetan group (557.78 ± 39.84 fmol/L, P < 0.001) compared to the Nanjing Han group (358.39 ± 16.16 fmol/L). However, in both blood cells and plasma, miR-210-3p levels were not significantly different between the Tibet Han group and the Tibetan group (P = 0.280, P = 0.620, respectively). Plasma miR-210-3p concentrations were positively correlated with miR-210-3p levels in blood cells (r = 0.192, P = 0.005). Furthermore, miR-210-3p levels in both blood cells and plasma showed strong positive correlations with red blood cell counts and hemoglobin and hematocrit values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data demonstrated, for the first time, that miR-210-3p might act as a circulating factor in response to hypoxic environments and could be associated with human adaptation to life at high altitudes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing UniversityNanjing, China; State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, NJU Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing UniversityNanjing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing UniversityNanjing, China; State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, NJU Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing UniversityNanjing, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Wanqing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Yonghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Forty-First Hospital of PLA Nêdong, China.
authors.forename: Pengtao
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Yuxiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Junjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, NJU Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Chen-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing UniversityNanjing, China; State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Life Sciences, Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for MicroRNA Biology and Biotechnology, NJU Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing UniversityNanjing, China.
authors.forename: Chunni
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Han Chinese; Tibet; Tibetan; high-altitude-hypoxia; miR-210-3p