Comparative Profiling of Exosomal miRNAs in Human Adult Peripheral and Umbilical Cord Blood Plasma by Deep Sequencing

Abstract

Aim: To assess differential expression profiles of miRNAs in exosomes derived from human peripheral blood (PB) and umbilical cord blood (UCB). Materials & methods: Small RNA sequencing was performed to characterize the miRNA expression in plasma exosomes processed from UCB of five healthy newborns and PB of five normal adult volunteers, and differentially expressed miRNAs were further analyzed. Results: A total of 65 exosomal miRNAs, including 46 upregulated and 19 downregulated, showed differential expression between UCB and PB. Target genes of these miRNAs were mainly enriched in signaling pathways associated with pregnancy, cancers, cell mobility and nervous system. Conclusion: Exosomal miRNAs may have essential roles in the biological functions of UCB, suggesting the therapeutic and biomarker potentials of exosomes in UCB.

Keywords::

• exosomal miRNA
• exosomes
• miRNA
• next-generation sequencing
• peripheral blood
• plasma
• umbilical cord blood

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.tandfonline.com/http://doi/suppl/10.2217/epi-2019-0213

Financial & competing interest disclosure

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 81502973 and 81703053), the National Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates of China (grant number: 201910573008), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (grant numbers: 2014A030310259, 2018A0303130304 and 2018A030313860) and the Innovation and University Promotion Project of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University (grant numbers: 2014KQNCX142 and 2017KCXTD020). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate Institutional Review Board approval and have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human participants. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 81502973 and 81703053), the National Training Program of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Undergraduates of China (grant number: 201910573008), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (grant numbers: 2014A030310259, 2018A0303130304 and 2018A030313860) and the Innovation and University Promotion Project of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University (grant numbers: 2014KQNCX142 and 2017KCXTD020). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.