Characterization of Paraquat-Induced miRNA Profiling Response in hNPCs Undergoing Proliferation

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Min Huang²  Dan Lou²  Qian Cai¹  Xiuli Chang²  Xinjin Wang²  Zhijun Zhou² 

[1] Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750000, China; E-Mail:;School of Public Health/MOE Key Lab of Public Health Safety/WHO Collaborating Center for Occupational Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; E-Mails:

关键词: paraquat;    hNPCs;    miRNA profiling;    developmental neurotoxicity;    target genes;    biological processes;    pathways;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151018422

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Aberration during the development of the central nervous system (CNS) due to environmental factors underlies a variety of adverse developmental outcomes. Paraquat (PQ) is a widely studied neurotoxicant that perturbs the normal structure/function of adult CNS. Yet, the impacts of PQ exposure on the developing CNS remain unclear. miRNAs represent a class of small non-coding RNA molecules involved in the regulation of neural development. Thus in the present study, we analyzed the impacts of PQ on the miRNome of human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) during proliferation by using the Exiqon miRCURY™ LNA Array. A total of 66 miRNAs were identified as differentially expressed in proliferating hNPCs upon PQ treatment. miRTarBase prediction identified 1465 mRNAs, including several genes (e.g., nestin, sox1, ngn1) previously proved to be associated with the neural proliferation and differentiation, as target genes of PQ-induced differentially expressed miRNAs. The database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) bioinformatics analysis showed that target genes were enriched in regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation, cell cycle and apoptosis as well as tumor protein 53 (p53), Wnt, Notch and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling pathways (p < 0.001). These findings were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. Based on our results we conclude that PQ-induced impacts on the miRNA profiling of hNPCs undergoing proliferation may underlie the developmental neurotoxicity of PQ.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.