BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play vital regulatory roles in many cellular processes. The expression of miRNA (miR)-34c is highly enriched in adult mouse testis, but its roles and underlying mechanisms of action are not well understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In the present study, we show that miR-34c is detected in mouse pachytene spermatocytes and continues to be highly expressed in...

AIM To investigate the microRNA expression profile in esophageal neosquamous epithelium from patients who had undergone ablation of Barrett's esophagus. METHODS High throughput screening using TaqMan® Array Human MicroRNA quantitative PCR was used to determine expression levels of 754 microRNAs in distal esophageal mucosa (1 cm above the gastro-esophageal junction) from 16 patients who had un...

The present study aimed to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in a rat model of steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) using Affymetrix GeneChip®. Following identification of miRNAs, the present study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying steroid-induced ONFH. A total of six C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into two ...

BACKGROUND Although microRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in spermatogenesis, little is known about seminal plasma miRNAs in infertile men. We investigated the profile of seminal plasma miRNAs in infertile men to identify miRNAs that are altered in infertility; we then evaluated their diagnostic value. METHODS Seminal plasma samples were obtained from 289 infertile men and 168 age-matched f...

BACKGROUND To examine human microRNA expression in fertile men and subsequently to compare expression patterns of miRNAs in fertile and infertile men, specifically men with Sertoli Cell Only (SCO) histopathology. METHODS Testicular tissues from men with azoospermia and SCO, as well as those of men with normal spermatogenesis, were analyzed. MicroRNA was isolated using the miRCURY™ RNA Purific...

Vaspin (visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor) is a newly discovered adipokine that widely participates in diabetes mellitus, polycystic ovarian syndrome and other disorders of metabolism. However, the effect of vaspin on the regulation of osteogenesis and the mechanism responsible are still unclear. Here, we found that vaspin can attenuate the osteogenic differentiation of ...

A family of small non-coding RNAs, ~22 nt in length, known as microRNAs (miRNAs), regulating ~30% of all human gene expression, have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of a number of types of cancers, including laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). In the current study, miR-34a and miR-34c were observed to be downregulated in human LSCC tissues. Ectopic expression of miR-34a a...

BACKGROUND Rapidly growing evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in a wide range of cancer malignant behaviours including radioresistance. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate miRNA expression patterns associated with radioresistance in NPC. METHODS The differential expression profiles of miRNAs and mRNAs associated with NPC radioresistance were constructe...

Bull spermatozoa are rich in active miRNAs, and it has been shown that specific spermborne miRNAs can be linked to fertility. Thus, expression profiling of spermatozoa could be helpful for understanding male fertility and the ability of spermatozoa to initiate and sustain zygotic, embryonic and foetal development. Herein we hypothesized that bulls with moderate to high fertility can be identifi...