Expression profiling of miRNA-122 and miRNA-221 in porcine various tissues and developing testes

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small regulatory RNA molecules that play a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. Recent studies indicate that miRNAs are mechanistically involved in mammalian spermatogenesis however, little is known regarding their expression patterns during porcine testis development. Here, researchers characterized the spatio-temporal expression patterns of two miRNAs, miRNA-122 (miR-122) and miRNA-221 (miR-221) in. porcine diverse tissues and four stages of testis development by using a Stem-Loop Quantitative RT-PCR Method. The result showed that miR-122 was relative highly expressed in adult porcine testis among all tissues examined except for the liver and had an increasing expression pattern during porcine testis development from birth to adult. Conversely, miR-221 was relative lowly expressed in adult porcine testis among all tissues examined and had a decreasing expression pattern during porcine testis development The results suggested that miR-122 and miR-221 may play distinct roles during testis development or spermatogenesis. In summary, determination of the spatio-temporal expression patterns of miR-122 and miR-221 in porcine developing. testes provides a useful resource for further illustrates their likely roles in pig testis development or spermatogenesis as well as in related mammals.