2对同卵双生子microRNAs表达谱差异分析

A preliminary study on the differential expression profile of microRNAs in two pairs of monozygotic twins

目的探索同卵双生子(monozygotic twins,MZ)间microRNAs(miRNAs)表达谱差异,寻找甄别MZ个体的新指标。方法应用miRNA芯片技术检测两对不同年龄和性别的MZ间miRNAs的表达并对其表达谱进行差异性分析,同时采用实时定量RT-PCR(qRT-PCR)技术对差异表达的miRNAs进行验证。结果男性MZ对共检出74个差异表达的miRNAs(51个上调,23个下调);女性MZ对共检出220个差异表达的miRNAs(102个上调,118个下调);两对MZ间共有的差异表达miRNAs 32个(上调27个,下调4个,表达不一致的1个)。此外,挑选的4个差异表达的miRNAs经实时qRT-PCR验证,与芯片检测结果一致。结论本研究初步证实了MZ个体间存在miRNAs表达差异,有望作为甄别MZ个体的新生物学指标。

Objective To explore the differential expression of microRNAs （miRNAs） between monozygotic twins （MZ）, so as to to find new biomarkers for the individual identification of MZ. Methods The expression profiles of miRNAs of two pairs of MZ with different sex and age were detected by miRNA microarray, and then the expression difference was analyzed. The expression level of miRNAs was verified by real-time quantitative RT-PCR （qRT-PCR） technique. Results 74 miRNAs （51 up-regulated and 23 down-regulated） were differentially expressed between the male MZ, and 220 miRNAs （ 102 up- regulated and 118 down-regulated） were differentially expressed between the female MZ. Among these miRNAs, there were 32 miRNAs （27 up-regulated, 4 down-regulated and 1 inconsistent） which were differentially expressed in both of MZ pairs. In addition, the measurement results of the selected 4 differentially expressed miRNAs by real-time qRT-PCR were consistent with the results of microarray. Conclusion This study has preliminarily confirmed the difference of miRNAs expression between MZ, suggesting a new biological memaker in identifying MZ.