MicroRNA-152 regulates DNA methyltransferase 1 and is involved in the development and lactation of mammary glands in dairy cows.

ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding, endogenous regulatory RNAs that function by controlling gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Using small RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR techniques, we found that the expression of miR-152 was significantly increased during lactation in the mammary glands of dairy cows producing high quality milk compared with that in cows producing low quality milk. Furthermore, DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), which is a target of miR-152, was inversely correlated with the expression levels of miR-152 in the mammary glands of dairy cows. Dairy cow mammary epithelial cells (DCMECs) were used as in vitro cell models to study the function of miR-152. The forced expression of miR-152 in DCMECs resulted in a marked reduction of DNMT1 at both mRNA an

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4079547 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature