title: Retinal expression of small non-coding RNAs in a murine model of proliferative retinopathy.
abstract: Ocular neovascularization is a leading cause of blindness in proliferative retinopathy. Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) play critical roles in both vascular and neuronal development of the retina through post-transcriptional regulation of target gene expression. To identify the function and therapeutic potential of sncRNAs in retinopathy, we assessed the expression profile of retinal sncRNAs in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) with pathologic proliferation of neovessels. Approximately 2% of all analyzed sncRNAs were significantly altered in OIR retinas compared with normoxic controls. Twenty three microRNAs with substantial up- or down-regulation were identified, including miR-351, -762, -210, 145, -155, -129-5p, -150, -203, and -375, which were further analyzed for their potential target genes in angiogenic, hypoxic, and immune response-related pathways. In addition, nineteen small nucleolar RNAs also revealed differential expression in OIR retinas compared with control retinas. A decrease of overall microRNA expression in OIR retinas was consistent with reduced microRNA processing enzyme Dicer, and increased expression of Alu element in OIR. Together, our findings elucidated a group of differentially expressed sncRNAs in a murine model of proliferative retinopathy. These sncRNAs may exert critical post-transcriptional regulatory roles in regulating pathological neovascularization in eye diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Chi-Hsiu
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Zhongxiao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Section on Nutritional Neuroscience, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: John Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: SanGiovanni
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen