PMID- 37234872
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20230528
IS  - 1664-8021 (Print)
IS  - 1664-8021 (Electronic)
IS  - 1664-8021 (Linking)
VI  - 14
DP  - 2023
TI  - miRNA expression profiles of peripheral white blood cells from beef heifers with 
      varying reproductive potential.
PG  - 1174145
LID - 10.3389/fgene.2023.1174145 [doi]
LID - 1174145
AB  - Reproductive performance is the most critical factor affecting production 
      efficiency in the cow-calf industry. Heifers with low reproductive efficiency may 
      fail to become pregnant during the breeding season or maintain a pregnancy. The 
      cause of reproductive failure often remains unknown, and the non-pregnant heifers 
      are not identified until several weeks after the breeding season. Therefore, 
      improving heifer fertility utilizing genomic information has become increasingly 
      important. One approach is using microRNAs (miRNA) in the maternal blood that 
      play an important role in regulating the target genes underlying pregnancy 
      success and thereby in selecting reproductively efficient heifers. Therefore, the 
      current study hypothesized that miRNA expression profiles from peripheral white 
      blood cells (PWBC) at weaning could predict the future reproductive outcome of 
      beef heifers. To this end, we measured the miRNA profiles using small 
      RNA-sequencing in Angus-Simmental crossbred heifers sampled at weaning and 
      retrospectively classified as fertile (FH, n = 7) or subfertile (SFH, n = 7). In 
      addition to differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMIs), their target genes were 
      predicted from TargetScan. The PWBC gene expression from the same heifers were 
      retrieved and co-expression networks were constructed between DEMIs and their 
      target genes. We identified 16 differentially expressed miRNAs between the groups 
      (p-value </=0.05 and absolute (log2 fold change >/=0.05)). Interestingly, based on a 
      strong negative correlation identified from miRNA-gene network analysis with PCIT 
      (partial correlation and information theory), we identified miRNA-target genes in 
      the SFH group. Additionally, TargetScan predictions and differential expression 
      analysis identified bta-miR-1839 with ESR1 , bta-miR-92b with KLF4 and KAT2B, 
      bta-miR-2419-5p with LILRA4, bta-miR-1260b with UBE2E1, SKAP2 and CLEC4D, and 
      bta-let-7a-5p with GATM, MXD1 as miRNA-gene targets. The miRNA-target gene pairs 
      in the FH group are over-represented for MAPK, ErbB, HIF-1, FoxO, p53, mTOR, 
      T-cell receptor, insulin and GnRH signaling pathways, while those in the SFH 
      group include cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway and apoptosis. Some miRNAs, 
      miRNA-target genes and regulated pathways identified in this study have a 
      potential role in fertility; other targets are identified as novel and need to be 
      validated in a bigger cohort that could help to predict the future reproductive 
      outcomes of beef heifers.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2023 Banerjee, Diniz, Rodning and Dyce.
FAU - Banerjee, Priyanka
AU  - Banerjee P
AD  - Department of Animal Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States.
FAU - Diniz, Wellison J S
AU  - Diniz WJS
AD  - Department of Animal Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States.
FAU - Rodning, Soren P
AU  - Rodning SP
AD  - Department of Animal Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States.
FAU - Dyce, Paul W
AU  - Dyce PW
AD  - Department of Animal Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20230510
PL  - Switzerland
TA  - Front Genet
JT  - Frontiers in genetics
JID - 101560621
PMC - PMC10206245
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - beef heifer
OT  - miRNA
OT  - pathways
OT  - reproductive potential
OT  - small-RNA sequencing
COIS- The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any 
      commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential 
      conflict of interest.
EDAT- 2023/05/26 19:14
MHDA- 2023/05/26 19:15
PMCR- 2023/05/10
CRDT- 2023/05/26 12:18
PHST- 2023/02/25 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2023/05/02 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2023/05/26 19:15 [medline]
PHST- 2023/05/26 19:14 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/05/26 12:18 [entrez]
PHST- 2023/05/10 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 1174145 [pii]
AID - 10.3389/fgene.2023.1174145 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Front Genet. 2023 May 10;14:1174145. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1174145. eCollection 
      2023.