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Preparation of Small RNA Libraries for Sequencing from Early Mouse Embryos
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Roles of MicroRNA across Prenatal and Postnatal Periods

Ilaria Floris1, Jamie D Kraft2, Illimar Altosaar3

  • 1Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON K1H8M5, Canada. ilaria.floris84@gmail.com.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|December 6, 2016
PubMed

Communication between mother and offspring in mammals starts at implantation via the maternal-placental-fetal axis, and continues postpartum via milk targeted to the intestinal mucosa. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), short, noncoding single-stranded RNAs, of about 22 nucleotides in length, are actively involved in many developmental and physiological processes. Here we highlight the role of miRNA in the dynamic signaling that guides infant development, starting from implantation of conceptus and persisting through the prenatal and postnatal periods. miRNAs in body fluids, particularly in amniotic fluid, umbilical cord blood, and breast milk may offer new opportunities to investigate physiological and/or pathological molecular mechanisms that portend to open novel research avenues for the identification of noninvasive biomarkers.

Keywords:
breast milkmaternal-offspring crosstalkmicroRNAnoninvasive biomarkers

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