Comparison of MicroRNA Profiles in Extracellular Vesicles from Small and Large Goat Follicular Fluid
Qiang Ding,
Miaohan Jin,
Peter Kalds,
Chunhua Meng,
Huili Wang,
Jifeng Zhong,
Xiaolong Wang,
Yulin Chen
Affiliations
Qiang Ding
Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Miaohan Jin
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Peter Kalds
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Chunhua Meng
Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Huili Wang
Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Jifeng Zhong
Institute of Animal Science, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Xiaolong Wang
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Yulin Chen
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Shaanxi Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang 712100, China
Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which exist in the follicular fluid of ruminant ovaries, are considered as cargo carriers for the transfer of biomolecules to recipient cells. However, the functions and changes in EVs in antral follicles remain ambiguous. In the present study, we isolated and characterized EVs from goat follicular fluid by means of differential ultracentrifugation and Western blotting of marker proteins. Bioinformatics tools were used to detect miRNA expression levels in EVs. Different miRNA expression patterns of EVs exist in small to large follicles. Thirteen differentially expressed miRNAs (seven upregulated and six downregulated) were identified and used for analysis. A total of 1948 predicted target genes of 13 miRNAs were mapped to signaling pathways, and three significantly enriched pathways (FoxO, MAPK, and PI3K-AKT signaling pathways) were involved in follicular development, as revealed by KEGG enrichment analysis. Our findings suggest that EVs in follicular fluid play biofunctional roles during follicular development in goats.
