Abstract
Submandibular glands (SMGs) are one of the primary components of salivary glands in goats. The proteins and biologically active substances secreted by the SMGs change with growth and development. Our previous studies showed that most of the differentially expressed genes in the SMGs of goats at different developmental stages are involved in immune-related signaling pathways, but the miRNA expression patterns in the same tissues are unknown. The aim of this study was to reveal the expression profile of miRNAs at three different developmental stages, detect differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs) and predict disease-related DE miRNAs. SMG tissue samples were collected from groups of 1-month-old kids, 12-month-old maiden goats and 24-month-old adult goats (three samples from each group), and high-throughout transcriptome sequencing was conducted. A total of 178, 241 and 7 DE miRNAs were discovered between 1-month-old kids and 12-month-old maiden goats, between 1-month-old kids and 24-month-old adult goats, and between 12-month-old maiden goats and 24-month-old adult goats, respectively. Among these DE miRNAs, 88 DE miRNAs with medium or high expression levels (TPM ≥50) were classified into five expression pattern clusters. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses indicated that some of the predicted target genes of the DE miRNAs in the five clusters were enriched in disease-related GO terms and pathways. MiRNA target genes in significant pathways were significantly enriched in Hepatitis B (FDR = 9.03E-10) and Pathways in cancer (FDR = 4.2E-10). Further analysis was performed with a PPI network, and 10 miRNAs were predicted to play an important role in the occurrence and prevention of diseases during the growth and development of goats.
Highlights
The submandibular glands (SMGs) are one of the primary components of salivary glands in mammals
The results showed that the 88 DE miRNAs were grouped into 5 categories: cluster 1, cluster 2, cluster 3, cluster 4, and cluster 5. 7 miRNAs were included in cluster 1, and these miRNAs were expressed at low levels in group A and expressed at high levels in groups B and C
We performed miRNA sequencing on the SMGs of goats at three different developmental stages
Summary
The submandibular glands (SMGs) are one of the primary components of salivary glands in mammals. Studies have shown that the proteins and biologically active substances secreted by SMGs change with age. The levels of hormones and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in rat SMGs gradually increase with age from 4 to 8 weeks (Hiramatsu et al, 1994). In the SMGs of postnatal rats, substance P increases in surges during the first 8 weeks of life (Ekström et al, 1994). In addition to the types of substances, their proportions in the SMGs change with growth and development. Kameyama et al found that both types of mucins secreted in the mouse SMGs and the proportions of the mucin glycan species expressed throughout life change during the aging process (Kameyama et al, 2020)
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