MicroRNA profiling in paired left and right eyes, lungs, and testes of normal mice

Abstract Physiological and pathophysiological differences widely exist in paired organ systems. However, the molecular basis for these differences remain largely unknown. We previously reported that there exist differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) in the left and right kidneys of normal mice. Here, we identified the DEMs in the left and right eyes, lungs and testes of normal mice via RNA Sequencing. As a result, we identified 26 DEMs in eyes, with 23 higher and 3 lower in the left eyes compared with right eyes, 21 DEMs in lungs, with 15 higher and 6 lower in the left lungs compared with right lungs; and 54 DEMs in testes, with 6 higher and 48 lower in the left testes compared with right ones. Ten miRNAs were further examined by quantitative PCR assays, and seven of these were confirmed. In addition, correlation analysis was performed between paired organ miRNA expressions and diverse body fluid miRNA expressions. Finally, we explored the functions and networks of DEMs and performed biological process and pathway enrichment analysis of target genes for DEMs, providing insights into the physiological and pathophysiological differences between the two entities of paired organs.