Oncotarget

Research Papers:

Assessment of differentially expressed plasma microRNAs in nonsyndromic cleft palate and nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate

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Oncotarget. 2016; 7:86266-86279. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.13379

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Jingyun Li, Jijun Zou, Qian Li, Ling Chen, Yanli Gao, Hui Yan, Bei Zhou and Jun Li _

Abstract

Jingyun Li1,*, Jijun Zou2,*, Qian Li1, Ling Chen1, Yanli Gao1, Hui Yan1, Bei Zhou1, Jun Li1

1State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Maternal and Child Health Medical Institute, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China

2Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210008, China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence to:

Jun Li, email: [email protected]

Keywords: nonsyndromic cleft palate, nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate, plasma microRNA, miRNA microarray

Received: September 30, 2016     Accepted: November 05, 2016     Published: November 16, 2016

ABSTRACT

Plasma microRNAs (miRNAs) have recently emerged as a new class of regulatory molecules that influence many biological functions. However, the expression profile of plasma microRNAs in nonsyndromic cleft palate (NSCP) or nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate (NSCLP) remains poorly investigated. In this study, we used Agilent human miRNA microarray chips to monitor miRNA levels in three NSCP plasma samples (mixed as the CP group), three NSCLP plasma samples (mixed as the CLP group) and three normal plasma samples (mixed as the Control group). Six selected plasma miRNAs were validated in samples from an additional 16 CP, 33 CLP and 8 healthy children using qRT-PCR. Using Venn diagrams, distinct and overlapping dysregulated miRNAs were identified. Their respective target genes were further assessed using gene ontology and pathway analysis. The results show that distinct or overlapping biological processes and signalling pathways were involved in CP and CLP. Our study showed that the common key gene targets reflected functional relationships to the Notch, Wnt, phosphatidylinositol and Hedgehog signalling pathways. Further studies should examine the mechanism of the potential target genes, which may provide new avenues for future clinical prevention and therapy.


INTRODUCTION

Orofacial clefts include cleft palate only (CPO), cleft lip with cleft palate (CLP) and cleft lip only (CLO). Approximately 1/800 live births worldwide are affected by these diseases [1]. Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts occur as isolated entities with no other apparent structural and/or developmental abnormalities. The majority of CLP cases are nonsyndromic (NS) (~70%) [2]. Cleft palate only (CPO) is the least common form of the orofacial clefts (approximately 33%) [3]. The aetiology is multifactorial and involves both genetic and environmental risk factors. Most studies suggest that distinct etiological mechanisms underlie CLP and CPO [4, 5]; however, some overlapping exists in their aetiologies [6, 7]. Thus, our knowledge about whether CPO does indeed differ from CLP remains incomplete.

Mounting evidence suggests that miRNAs could be functionally important for the regulation of vertebrate and mammalian orofacial clefting [810]. The identification of the miRNA-mRNA regulatory molecules is important to understand the regulatory mechanisms of CLP and CPO. The potential of plasma miRNAs to be potential non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers for nonsyndromic cleft lip in infants has been reported [11]. In this study, based on our Agilent human miRNA microarray chips, we identified differentially expressed plasma microRNAs in nonsyndromic cleft palate and nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate. Using gene ontology and pathway analysis of the target genes of these miRNAs, we report that distinct biological processes interact and coordinate the physiology of nonsyndromic cleft palate and nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate.

RESULTS

miRNA microarray analysis

To investigate whether circulating miRNAs are associated with the pathogenesis of cleft palate and cleft lip with cleft palate, plasma samples were collected from healthy children and children with nonsyndromic cleft palate (NSCLP) and cleft lip with cleft palate (NSCLP). A comprehensive miRNA microarray analysis was performed on nine plasma samples, including three NSCP plasma samples (mixed as the CP group), three NSCLP plasma samples (mixed as the CLP group) and three plasma samples from healthy children (mixed as the Control group). Hierarchical clustering was used to show the miRNAs expression variation and patterns among these three groups CP, CLP and Control (Figure 1A). We also screened for differentially expressed miRNAs that showed a two-fold or greater change (compared to the control group) in the CP and CLP plasma samples, and illustrated the overlapping between the two data sets using Venn diagrams (Figure 1B, 1C). A total of 63 miRNAs were upregulated in both the CP and CLP plasma samples (Figure 1B). The upregulated miRNAs are listed in Table 1 (fold change ≥ 2). Furthermore, 49 miRNAs were downregulated in both the CP and CLP plasma samples (Figure 1C). The downregulated miRNAs are listed in Table 2 (fold change ≥ 2).

Table 1: List of 63 miRNAs that were co-overexpressed in CP and CLP plasma samples

miRNA

Fold change in CP

Fold change in CLP

Mirbase_accession_No

hsa-let-7a-5p

2.593625

3.62266

MIMAT0000062

hsa-let-7f-5p

36.22597

94.70817

MIMAT0000067

hsa-miR-1182

21.12385

26.03614

MIMAT0005827

hsa-miR-1185-2-3p

35.17025

22.02562

MIMAT0022713

hsa-miR-1226-5p

33.54898

41.68948

MIMAT0005576

hsa-miR-1249-3p

40.65461

26.77842

MIMAT0005901

hsa-miR-126-5p

22.59582

11.5428

MIMAT0000444

hsa-miR-139-3p

9.764356

30.04384

MIMAT0004552

hsa-miR-144-5p

22.1287

34.8168

MIMAT0004600

hsa-miR-150-5p

2.004063

5.130724

MIMAT0000451

hsa-miR-17-3p

25.74652

10.66161

MIMAT0000071

hsa-miR-194-5p

2.004321

2.671813

MIMAT0000460

hsa-miR-195-5p

11.29176

10.05747

MIMAT0000461

hsa-miR-215-5p

10.32331

24.41001

MIMAT0000272

hsa-miR-27b-3p

10.79146

4.974262

MIMAT0000419

hsa-miR-301a-3p

2.216769

2.039103

MIMAT0000688

hsa-miR-30b-5p

43.5225

53.10868

MIMAT0000420

hsa-miR-30c-1-3p

9.047681

4.742653

MIMAT0004674

hsa-miR-30c-5p

10.41076

4.763296

MIMAT0000244

hsa-miR-3156-5p

39.43275

33.64425

MIMAT0015030

hsa-miR-3158-5p

36.59335

29.4613

MIMAT0019211

hsa-miR-340-5p

4.435901

10.44386

MIMAT0004692

hsa-miR-3648

2.844126

7.529149

MIMAT0018068

hsa-miR-374a-5p

41.436

53.56016

MIMAT0000727

hsa-miR-3945

54.65085

55.2666

MIMAT0018361

hsa-miR-424-5p

11.5428

23.91295

MIMAT0001341

hsa-miR-4314

48.6155

91.10153

MIMAT0016868

hsa-miR-4417

39.91649

27.81709

MIMAT0018929

hsa-miR-4496

21.48931

25.86879

MIMAT0019031

hsa-miR-4508

20.71299

22.6453

MIMAT0019045

hsa-miR-4673

23.30205

21.36562

MIMAT0019755

hsa-miR-4688

9.853577

37.87732

MIMAT0019777

hsa-miR-4698

2.111651

2.899994

MIMAT0019793

hsa-miR-4707-3p

53.56016

88.45938

MIMAT0019808

hsa-miR-4716-3p

25.26925

22.1287

MIMAT0019827

hsa-miR-4734

10.01005

24.63449

MIMAT0019859

hsa-miR-4769-5p

10.66161

4.959765

MIMAT0019922

hsa-miR-532-5p

10.62257

4.541014

MIMAT0002888

hsa-miR-550a-3-5p

22.36834

10.8752

MIMAT0020925

hsa-miR-564

9.835221

47.83535

MIMAT0003228

hsa-miR-601

35.01135

36.03937

MIMAT0003269

hsa-miR-6071

21.2377

52.38286

MIMAT0023696

hsa-miR-6133

10.44386

27.50138

MIMAT0024617

hsa-miR-652-3p

22.6453

4.860917

MIMAT0003322

hsa-miR-660-5p

24.63449

28.21952

MIMAT0003338

hsa-miR-663a

28.76448

47.35553

MIMAT0003326

hsa-miR-6738-5p

9.491392

40.3395

MIMAT0027377

hsa-miR-6748-5p

10.37443

20.60795

MIMAT0027396

hsa-miR-6758-5p

23.39996

9.81465

MIMAT0027416

hsa-miR-6774-5p

20.60795

4.699301

MIMAT0027448

hsa-miR-6777-3p

35.46738

53.8186

MIMAT0027455

hsa-miR-6784-5p

33.23554

28.4822

MIMAT0027468

hsa-miR-6793-5p

23.91295

3.695676

MIMAT0027486

hsa-miR-6807-5p

27.50138

34.4576

MIMAT0027514

hsa-miR-6820-5p

22.91788

39.11779

MIMAT0027540

hsa-miR-6887-5p

28.4822

22.30914

MIMAT0027674

hsa-miR-6889-5p

9.57147

39.91649

MIMAT0027678

hsa-miR-7109-5p

22.30914

20.89674

MIMAT0028115

hsa-miR-711

21.61314

28.39723

MIMAT0012734

hsa-miR-7114-5p

9.41187

23.30205

MIMAT0028125

hsa-miR-8060

29.71088

24.85582

MIMAT0030987

hsa-miR-8089

9.716781

22.36834

MIMAT0031016

hsa-miR-877-5p

36.42551

38.19915

MIMAT0004949

Table 2: List of 49 miRNAs that were co-downregulated in CP and CLP plasma samples

miRNA

Fold change in CP

Fold change in CLP

Mirbase_accession_No

hsa-miR-122-5p

0.014823713

0.330486

MIMAT0000421

hsa-miR-1237-3p

0.04279959

0.178651

MIMAT0005592

hsa-miR-1260a

0.42197306

0.188688

MIMAT0005911

hsa-miR-1281

0.292045994

0.361803

MIMAT0005939

hsa-miR-1304-3p

0.022515879

0.021418

MIMAT0022720

hsa-miR-1825

0.305341608

0.315741

MIMAT0006765

hsa-miR-191-3p

0.210027916

0.202306

MIMAT0001618

hsa-miR-193a-5p

0.425119659

0.1725

MIMAT0004614

hsa-miR-221-3p

0.38537867

0.317683

MIMAT0000278

hsa-miR-3187-3p

0.013885943

0.013209

MIMAT0015069

hsa-miR-338-3p

0.04279959

0.214453

MIMAT0000763

hsa-miR-4286

0.481616926

0.148742

MIMAT0016916

hsa-miR-4290

0.04279959

0.040714

MIMAT0016921

hsa-miR-4428

0.354170872

0.170319

MIMAT0018943

hsa-miR-4433a-5p

0.207866953

0.084119

MIMAT0020956

hsa-miR-4455

0.422613454

0.365739

MIMAT0018977

hsa-miR-4649-3p

0.200187171

0.091757

MIMAT0019712

hsa-miR-4668-5p

0.389545483

0.170031

MIMAT0019745

hsa-miR-4728-5p

0.471992677

0.412945

MIMAT0019849

hsa-miR-4738-3p

0.356057291

0.151948

MIMAT0019867

hsa-miR-4749-3p

0.431131255

0.458677

MIMAT0019886

hsa-miR-4769-3p

0.299500434

0.328468

MIMAT0019923

hsa-miR-483-3p

0.025346248

0.25173

MIMAT0002173

hsa-miR-494-3p

0.421072365

0.074374

MIMAT0002816

hsa-miR-497-5p

0.26762079

0.401373

MIMAT0002820

hsa-miR-574-3p

0.032438225

0.165143

MIMAT0003239

hsa-miR-574-5p

0.398577728

0.302998

MIMAT0004795

hsa-miR-636

0.405198518

0.173279

MIMAT0003306

hsa-miR-6508-5p

0.021489753

0.091996

MIMAT0025472

hsa-miR-6515-3p

0.233030948

0.255185

MIMAT0025487

hsa-miR-6732-3p

0.029496564

0.129832

MIMAT0027366

hsa-miR-6751-3p

0.096354218

0.272251

MIMAT0027403

hsa-miR-6776-5p

0.023690732

0.022536

MIMAT0027452

hsa-miR-6785-5p

0.292436258

0.215104

MIMAT0027470

hsa-miR-6797-3p

0.486474133

0.356753

MIMAT0027495

hsa-miR-6800-3p

0.207096926

0.209525

MIMAT0027501

hsa-miR-6813-3p

0.295100077

0.244702

MIMAT0027527

hsa-miR-6851-3p

0.02840522

0.109846

MIMAT0027603

hsa-miR-6861-3p

0.02773473

0.119237

MIMAT0027624

hsa-miR-6870-3p

0.04279959

0.040714

MIMAT0027641

hsa-miR-6873-3p

0.022068915

0.020993

MIMAT0027647

hsa-miR-6880-3p

0.04279959

0.040714

MIMAT0027661

hsa-miR-7111-3p

0.02234751

0.227218

MIMAT0028120

hsa-miR-7114-3p

0.04279959

0.180041

MIMAT0028126

hsa-miR-7641

0.466679177

0.29544

MIMAT0029782

hsa-miR-766-3p

0.248388555

0.280315

MIMAT0003888

hsa-miR-7975

0.443053554

0.153591

MIMAT0031178

hsa-miR-7977

0.425407891

0.15303

MIMAT0031180

hsa-miR-8073

0.04279959

0.462327

MIMAT0031000

plasma

Figure 1: plasma miRNA microarray expression data among the patients with nonsyndromic cleft palate, nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate and healthy children. (A) Hierarchical clustering reveals the miRNA expression profile. (B) Venn diagrams show the number of distinct and overlapping upregulated miRNAs in CP and CLP. (C) Venn diagrams show the number of distinct and overlapping downregulated miRNAs in CP and CLP.

Expression validation of selected miRNAs using Bulge-Loop™ qRT-PCR analysis

Among the 63 upregulated and 49 downregulated miRNAs in both the CP and CLP plasma samples, six miRNAs, namely miR-340–5p, miR-877–5p, miR-3648, miR-1260a, miR-494–3p, and miR-1304–3p, were selected for expression validation (Table 3). The selection standards were the same as we previously reported [11] and were as follows: infrequently reported in the literature, present in both samples and higher deep sequencing reads in miRBase. Bulge-Loop™ qRT-PCR was performed to validate these six differentially expressed miRNAs found in the miRNA microarray analysis. RNA was isolated from 57 plasma samples, including samples from 16 CP, 33 CLP and 8 healthy children, using the mirVana PARIS kit (Ambion, Carlsbad, CA, USA). The results showed that three miRNAs, miR-340–5p, miR-877–5p and miR-3648, were significantly upregulated in both the CP and CLP plasma samples (Figure 2). In contrast, three miRNAs, miR-1260a, miR-494–3p and miR-1304–3p, were significantly downregulated in both the CP and CLP plasma samples (Figure 2). Therefore, a similar pattern of upregulation and downregulation was observed in both the microarray and qRT-PCR samples for the 6 miRNAs assessed (Table 3, Figure 2). Therefore, our microarray data were reliable and stable.

Table 3: Selected six miRNAs’ basic characteristics

miRNA

Fold change in
CP

Fold change in
CLP

Dysregulation

miRBase deep sequencing
reads

miR-340-5p

4.435901

10.44386

up

329

miR-877-5p

36.42551

38.19915

up

2840

miR-3648

2.844126

7.529149

up

650

miR-1260a

0.42197306

0.188688

down

29

miR-494-3p

0.421072365

0.074374

down

153

miR-1304-3p

0.022515879

0.021418

down

4

Rela6tive

Figure 2: Rela6tive expression level (2−ΔΔCt) of miR-340-5p, miR-877-5p, miR-3648, miR-1260a, miR-494-3p, and miR-1304-3p expression in the plasma of cleft palate patients (n =16), cleft lip with cleft palate patients (n = 33) and controls (n = 8) (Mann-Whitney U test). P values are listed above the data dot.

Functional analysis of potential target genes of co-expressed dysregulated miRNAs

To explore whether overlapping biological processes were found in both CLP and CPO, we performed gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis for the predicted targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs, including the 63 upregulated and 49 downregulated miRNAs in both CP and CLP, which produced 4227 and 2684 predictive target genes, respectively. The top ten enriched GO terms for the upregulated and downregulated are listed in Figure 3A and 3B, respectively. The analysis revealed that the potential target genes of the 63 miRNAs upregulated in both CP and CLP were associated with glutamate secretion, aorta or palate development, positive regulation of axonogenesis, cardiac septum development, artery development, the canonical Wnt signalling pathway, and the ephrin receptor signalling pathway (Figure 3A). Conversely, the potential target genes of the 49 miRNAs downregulated in both CP and CLP were associated with the generation of contraction-related action potentials in cardiac muscle cells, cardiac muscle cell contraction, columnar/cuboidal epithelial cell development, cardiac conduction, positive regulation of axonogenesis, and the ephrin receptor signalling pathway (Figure 3B). Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the potential target genes of the miRNAs dysregulated in both CP and CLP were involved in p53 signalling, Wnt signalling, circadian rhythm, insulin resistance, and the AMPK signalling pathway (Figure 3C, 3D).

GO

Figure 3: GO and KEGG pathway analyses show the associated function of the target genes of the miRNAs dysregulated in both CP and CLP. (A) The top 10 enriched GO terms for the 4227 target genes of the 63 miRNAs upregulated in both CP and CLP. (B) The top 10 enriched GO terms for the 2684 target genes of the 49 miRNAs downregulated in both CP and CLP. (C) The top 30 enriched pathways for the 4227 target genes of the 63 miRNAs upregulated in both CP and CLP. (D) The top 30 enriched pathways for the 2684 target genes of the 49 miRNAs downregulated in both CP and CLP. (C-D) The enrichment P values were calculated using Fisher’s exact test. The term/pathway on the vertical axis was drawn according to the first letter of the pathway name in descending order. The horizontal axis represents the enrichment factor, i.e., (the number of dysregulated genes in a pathway/the total number of dysregulated genes)/(the number of genes in a pathway in the database/the total number of genes in the database). The top 30 enriched pathways were selected according to the enrichment factor value. The selection standards were the number of genes in a pathway ≥ 4 and p < 0.05. The different colours from green to red represent the p-value. The different sizes of the round shapes represent the gene count number in a pathway. *indicates the pathway is similarly regulated in both CP and CLP. # means the pathway is regulated in both CP and CLP but the miRNA target genes may be upregulated or downregulated.

Function analysis of the potential target genes of the miRNAs dysregulated in CP

To explore whether distinct biological processes regulated CLP and CPO, we performed gene ontology (GO) and KEGG analysis of the predicted targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs in CP, including 14 upregulated miRNAs producing 1057 predictive target genes and 6 downregulated miRNAs yielding 363 potential target genes. The top ten enriched GO terms are listed in Figure 4A and 4B, respectively. The analysis revealed that the potential target genes of the 14 miRNAs upregulated in CP were associated with hippo signalling, dendrite morphogenesis or development, positive regulation of smooth muscle cell proliferation, neural tube formation and developmental cell growth (Figure 4A). Conversely, the potential target genes of the 6 miRNAs downregulated in CP were associated with modulation of synaptic transmission, blood vessel or tissue morphogenesis, regulation of cell morphogenesis or cell differentiation and neurogenesis (Figure 4B). Surprisingly, 1057 of the predictive target genes of the 14 miRNAs upregulated in CP did not display KEGG enrichment results using the SBC analysis system. For the 363 potential target genes of the 6 miRNAs downregulateCP, the pathway enrichment results showed that those genes were mainly involved in thyroid cancer, the Notch signalling pathway, fatty acid metabolism, adherens junctions and amphetamine addiction (Figure 4C).

GO

Figure 4: GO and KEGG pathway analyses show the associated function of the target genes of the miRNAs dysregulated in CP. (A) The top 10 enriched GO terms for the 1057 target genes of the 14 miRNAs upregulated in CP. (B) The top 10 enriched GO terms for the 363 target genes of the 6 miRNAs downregulated in CP. (C) Top 30 enriched pathways for the 363 target genes of the 6 miRNAs downregulated in CP. The enrichment P values were calculated using Fisher’s exact test. The term/pathway on the vertical axis was drawn according to the first letter of the pathway name in descending order. The horizontal axis represents the enrichment factor, i.e., (the number of dysregulated genes in a pathway/the total number of dysregulated gene)/(the number of genes in a pathway in the database/the total number of genes in the database). Top 30 enriched pathways were selected according to the enrichment factor value. The selection standards were the number of genes in a pathway ≥ 4 and p < 0.05. The different colours from green to red represent the p value. The different sizes of the round shapes represent the gene count number in a pathway. * indicates the pathway is similarly regulated in both CP and CLP.

Function analysis of the potential target genes of the miRNAs dysregulated in CLP

Additionally, we performed gene ontology (GO) and KEGG analysis of the predicted targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs in CLP, including 75 upregulated miRNAs yielding 3505 possible target genes and 34 downregulated miRNAs creating 1666 possible target genes. The top ten enriched GO terms are listed in Figure 5A and 5B, respectively. The analysis revealed that the potential target genes of the 75 miRNAs upregulated in CLP were associated with the regulation of axon extension during axon guidance, the semaphorin-plexin signalling pathway, the epidermal growth factor receptor signalling pathway, the regulation of axon extension, histone methylation and the extent of cell growth (Figure 5A). Conversely, the potential target genes of the 34 miRNAs downregulated in CLP were associated with glutamate secretion, the positive regulation of axon extension, multicellular organism growth, the extent of cell growth, neurotransmitter transport and the regulation of synaptic plasticity (Figure 5B). Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the potential target genes of the miRNAs dysregulated in CLP were associated with specific pathways, including the thyroid hormone signalling pathway, the GnRH signalling pathway, the Hedgehog signalling pathway, and the longevity regulating pathway (Figure 5C, 5D).

GO

Figure 5: GO and KEGG pathway analyses show the associated function of the target genes of the miRNAs dysregulated in CLP. (A) The top 10 enriched GO terms for the 3505 target genes of the 75 miRNAs upregulated in CLP. (B) The top 10 enriched GO terms for the 1666 target genes of the 34 miRNAs downregulated in CLP. (C) Top 30 enriched pathways for the 3505 target genes of the 75 miRNAs upregulated in CLP. (D) Top 30 enriched pathways for the 1666 target genes of the 34 miRNAs downregulated in CLP. (C–D) The enrichment P values were calculated using Fisher’s exact test. The term/pathway on the vertical axis was drawn according to the first letter of the pathway name in descending order. The horizontal axis represents the enrichment factor, i.e., (the number of dysregulated genes in a pathway/the total number of dysregulated genes)/(the number of genes in a pathway in the database/the total number of genes in the database). The top 30 enriched pathways were selected according to the enrichment factor value. The selection standards were the number of genes in a pathway ≥ 4 and p < 0.05. The different colours from green to red represent the p value. The different sizes of the round shapes represent the gene count number in a pathway. * indicates the pathway is similarly regulated in both CLP and CP.

DISCUSSION

Plasma miRNAs are highly stabile under handling and storage conditions [12]. They play crucial roles in many diseases including cancer [13, 14] and respiratory diseases [15]. Nonsyndromic cleft palate and nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate are two types of oral clefting that occur without other developmental syndromes. Research on the roles of differentially expressed plasma miRNAs in NSCP and NSCLP patients will improve our knowledge, diagnosis and management of the two diseases. This study, for the first time, has used microarray profiling to evaluate the differential expression of miRNAs in plasma samples from NSCP and NSCLP patients compared with healthy children. Six miRNAs, namely miR-340–5p, miR-877–5p, miR-3648, miR-1260a, miR-494–3p, and miR-1304–3p, were found to be differentially expressed in both the NSCP and NSCLP plasma samples.

Venn diagrams have been widely used to visualize the relationship between complex genetic data sets [16, 17]. Based on our miRNA microarray data, we found the intersection of differentially expressed miRNAs in CP and CLP. Using Bulge-Loop™ qRT-PCR analysis, we demonstrated that the upregulated and downregulated miRNAs were consistent with the results of the miRNA microarray assay. Therefore, we investigated the key genes and pathways associated with CP and/or CLP using bioinformatics analysis according to the microarray data. In mammals, miRNAs could regulate 30% of the protein-coding genes through posttranscriptional silencing; therefore, the dysregulation of miRNAs in NSCP or NSCLP patients could have a profound influence on various biological functions.

Based on the GO analysis, the predicted target genes of the upregulated and downregulated miRNAs in both CP and CLP mainly participated in glutamate secretion, aorta or palate development, cardiac muscle cell contraction, and the ephrin receptor signalling pathway. Examining the top 30 enriched pathways showed that the target genes were solely associated with several pathways, including the AGE-RAGE signalling pathway in diabetic complications, retrograde endocannabinoid signalling, signalling pathways regulating the pluripotency of stem cells, the adipocytokine signalling pathway, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), cocaine addiction, dilated cardiomyopathy, gastric acid secretion, glycerolipid metabolism, glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis-chondroitin sulphate/dermatan sulphate, glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis-keratan sulphate, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the p53 signalling pathway and mucin type O-Glycan biosynthesis. Consistent with this prediction, cleft palate and cleft lip with cleft palate may be associated with a wide range of signalling molecules, including transforming growth factors (TGFs) [18], bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) [19], and fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) [20]. In addition, various developmental transcription factors belonging to the paired box (PAX) [21], distal-less homeobox (DLX) [22], msh homeobox (MSX) [23], and T-Box (TBX) gene families [24] are also involved in CP and CLP.

Recent studies suggest that isolated cleft palate only (CPO) has independent genetic causes and should be evaluated separately [25, 26]. Therefore, we analysed the predictive target genes of nonoverlapping miRNAs in CP and CLP using GO and KEGG pathway analysis. Interestingly, the top 10 enriched GO terms showed that Hippo signalling, dendrite morphogenesis, modulation of synaptic transmission and tissue morphogenesis were related to CP. Thirteen pathways of the top 30 enriched pathways were uniquely associated with CP including 2-oxocarboxylic acid metabolism, adrenergic signalling in cardiomyocytes, breast cancer, the cAMP signalling pathway, colorectal cancer, the oestrogen signalling pathway, fatty acid metabolism, gap junctions, HTLV-I infection, the MAPK signalling pathway, pathways in cancer, the ras signalling pathway, and tight junctions. In contrast, 14 pathways of the top 30 enriched pathways were only linked with CLP including dopaminergic synapses, endocytosis, the GnRH signalling pathway, morphine addiction, non-small cell lung cancer, renin secretion, acute myeloid leukaemia, bile secretion, dorso-ventral axis formation, endometrial cancer, renal cell carcinoma, shigellosis, SNARE interactions in vesicular transport, and Sphingolipid metabolism.

NSCP and NSCLP are developmental defects. The differentially expressed plasma miRNAs identified in the affected infants could be from their mother’s blood. Further elucidation of the sources of the plasma miRNAs in human tissues and their roles in the pathogenesis of cleft palate or cleft lip with cleft palate, particularly in palate development or the regulation of cranial neural crest (CNC) cells that give rise to craniofacial structures, needs to be further explored. In addition, larger samples are needed to perform receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to prove that some of the children plasma microRNAs are promising biomarkers.

Taken together, based on the Bulge-Loop™ qRT-PCR analysis and miRNA microarray assay, we uncovered a differential plasma miRNA expression profile in NSCP and NSCLP patients compared with healthy children. Using GO and KEGG pathway analysis, we found distinct and overlapping biological processes or signalling pathways involved in CP and CLP. Further studies should examine the mechanism of the potential target genes, which may provide new avenues for future clinical prevention and therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sample collection

The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Nanjing Medical University (2014–10–16). The plasma samples were collected according to previously described methods [11]. Nonsyndromic cleft palate (NSCP) and nonsyndromic cleft lip with cleft palate (NSCLP) patients who underwent surgery and healthy children (normal face but who underwent surgery for hydrocele) participated in this study with their parent’s consent at the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Nanjing Children’s Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University in Nanjing, China. All NSCP, NSCLP and healthy children were between 2 and 12 months old. The patient information is listed in Table 4. Briefly, peripheral blood was collected into EDTAK2 tubes (regular type), and then immediately centrifuged at 1000 g for 15 min. The supernatant plasma was transferred to RNase-free tubes and centrifuged at 12000 g for 10 min to pellet any remaining cellular debris. Aliquots of the supernatant were transferred to fresh tubes and immediately stored at –80°C.

Table 4: Patient characteristics

Group

Age (m, months; d, days)

Gender

Sample use

Control

9m12d

female

Array

Control

3m30d

male

Array

Control

10m

male

Array

Control

6m

female

qRT-PCR

Control

9m

female

qRT-PCR

Control

12m

female

qRT-PCR

Control

3m

male

qRT-PCR

Control

9m

male

qRT-PCR

Control

3m

male

qRT-PCR

Control

6m

male

qRT-PCR

Control

5m

male

qRT-PCR

CP

3m

female

Array

CP

6m

female

Array

CP

5m

male

Array

CP

10m7d

female

qRT-PCR

CP

12m

female

qRT-PCR

CP

3m

female

qRT-PCR

CP

8m28d

female

qRT-PCR

CP

9m20d

female

qRT-PCR

CP

10m9d

female

qRT-PCR

CP

11m13d

female

qRT-PCR

CP

8m

female

qRT-PCR

CP

12m

female

qRT-PCR

CP

12m

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

7m30d

male

Array

CLP

4m

male

Array

CLP

4m21d

male

Array

CLP

2m22d

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

4m17d

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

12m

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

10m25d

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

12m

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

10m24d

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

5m

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

7m

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

12m

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

11m

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

3m21d

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

5m30d

female

qRT-PCR

CLP

4m12d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

3m12d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

4m23d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

3m20d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

2m10d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

2m

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

9m29d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

12m

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

12m

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

11m3d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

3m

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

6m

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

9m10d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

12m

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

11m

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

4m21d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

3m30d

male

qRT-PCR

CLP

11m12d

male

qRT-PCR

CP, cleft palate; CLP, cleft lip with palate.

Total RNA isolation from human plasma samples

Total RNA was isolated from 400 μl of human plasma samples using the mirVana PARIS kit (Ambion, Carlsbad, CA, USA) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After infusing an equal volume of 2x denaturing solution to the plasma samples to inactivate RNases, the denatured samples were mixed with Synthetic Caenorhabditis elegans miRNA cel-miR-39 (GenePharma, Shanghai, China), to normalize the variation in RNA isolation from the different samples. RNA was eluted using 100 μl of elution solution.

Mature miRNA microarray analysis

Nine samples, which included three NSCP plasma samples (mixed as the CP group), three NSCLP plasma samples (mixed as the CLP group) and three normal plasma samples (mixed as the Control group), were analysed using Agilent human miRNA microarray chips (8*60K) v21.0 (ShanghaiBio Corporation, Shanghai, China). The raw data were normalized using the quantile algorithm in GeneSpring Software 12.6 (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). The differentially expressed miRNAs that showed a two-fold or greater change were screened. Venn diagrams were draw online (http://bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be/webtools/Venn/).

Validation of the microarray data using Bulge-Loop™ miRNA qRT-PCR

To confirm the microarray data, six selected miRNAs with two-fold or greater changes were further validated in samples from an additional 16 CP, 33 CLP and 8 healthy children using Bulge-Loop™ qRT-PCR according to the manufacturer’s protocol (RIBOBIO, Guangzhou, China) with SYBR green on an Applied Biosystems ViiA™ 7 Dx (Life Technologies, USA). The expression levels of the miRNAs were normalized to C. elegans control miRNA cel-39 using the 2(–△△Ct) method [27].

Statistical analysis

The validation results from the qRT-PCR analysis are displayed as the mean ± SD. Statistical significance was assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test in Graphpad Prism 6 (Graphpad software, CA, USA). A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

GO and pathway enrichment analyses

The differentially expressed miRNAs were further analysed for predicted gene targets simultaneously using at least two of the following five databases: TARGETMINER, miRDB, microRNA, TarBase, and RNA22 through the ShanghaiBio Corporation (SBC) analysis system (http://sas.ebioservice.com). GO enrichment analyses were performed online (http://geneontology.org/). KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of the predicted targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs were performed according to previously described methods [11]. KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed by the ShanghaiBio Corporation (SBC) analysis system, which uses clusterProfiler data from R/bioconductor software (http://www.r-project.org and http://www.bioconductor.org/) with public databases that include NCBI Entrez Gene (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene), GO (http://www.geneontology.org), KEGG (http://www.genome.jp/kegg), and Biocarta (http://www.biocarta.com). The enrichment P-values of both the GO and pathway enrichment analyses were calculated using the Fisher’s exact test [28], which was corrected using enrichment q-values (the false discovery rate) that were calculated using John Storey’s method [29].

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81501672), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20140083), the Nanjing Medical Science and Technique Development Foundation (YKK15159), and the Nanjing Science and Technology project (201503047).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests.

Authors’ contributions

Jun Li planned the experiment and conducted the data analyses. Jingyun Li and Jijun Zou performed the sample preparation and validation of the specific plasma miRNAs. Qian Li and Ling Chen performed the bioinformatics analyses. Yanli Gao, Hui Yan, and Bei Zhou performed the statistical analyses. Jingyun Li and Jun Li wrote and edited the manuscript.

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