Altered microRNA expression profile in maternal and fetal liver of HBV transgenic mouse model

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression in a post-transcriptional sequence-specific manner. Expression profile analysis of miRNAs in liver is necessary to understand the possible roles of miRNAs in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods: We obtained HBV-positive liver samples from mice, using HBV transgenic mouse model. MicroRNA expression was analyzed with Agilent microRNA Array and validated using quantitative real-time PCR analysis. Results: RNA samples from liver of HBV transgenic mouse liver exhibited notably different miR profiles from negative controls for both maternities and fetuses. Significant differences in expression profile of miRNAs were also found in fetal and maternal group of HBV transgenic mouse model. Expression of miR-1892 and miR-1187 decreased by approximately 2-fold (p < 0.01), whereas expression of miR-92a increased by more than 6-fold (p < 0.001) in the fetal group, as validated by qPCR. Conclusion: Deregulation of miRNAs expression in fetal livers could be implicated in HBV intrauterine infection. Further study is warranted to identify the target genes of these miRNAs and their function. Besides, these data might offer new ideas for blocking HBV intrauterine infection.