Journal
GENES
Volume 12, Issue 8, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/genes12081264
Keywords
fetal growth; longissimus dorsi muscle; prenatal development; skeletal muscle; intrauterine growth
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The study identified 13 miRNAs in the pig fetus's longissimus dorsi muscle significantly correlated to fetal weight, with their expression decreasing as fetal weight increased. Additionally, 1315 genes were found to be significantly correlated to fetal weight at 63 days post conception, with 135 genes identified as potential targets of the miRNAs mentioned above.Paths and biological processes important for fetal growth, development, and metabolism were enriched by these miRNAs and their target genes, suggesting their potential as biomarkers for prenatal fetal health and growth.
Impaired skeletal muscle growth in utero can result in reduced birth weight and poor carcass quality in pigs. Recently, we showed the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target genes in prenatal skeletal muscle development and pathogenesis of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). In this study, we performed an integrative miRNA-mRNA transcriptomic analysis in longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) of pig fetuses at 63 days post conception (dpc) to identify miRNAs and genes correlated to fetal weight. We found 13 miRNAs in LDM significantly correlated to fetal weight, including miR-140, miR-186, miR-101, miR-15, miR-24, miR-29, miR-449, miR-27, miR-142, miR-99, miR-181, miR-199, and miR-210. The expression of these miRNAs decreased with an increase in fetal weight. We also identified 1315 genes significantly correlated to fetal weight at 63 dpc, of which 135 genes were negatively correlated as well as identified as potential targets of the above-listed 13 miRNAs. These miRNAs and their target genes enriched pathways and biological processes important for fetal growth, development, and metabolism. These results indicate that the transcriptomic profile of skeletal muscle can be used to predict fetal weight, and miRNAs correlated to fetal weight can serve as potential biomarkers of prenatal fetal health and growth.
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