Circulating skeletal muscle related microRNAs profile in Piedmontese cattle during different age

Piedmontese cattle is known for double-muscle phenotype. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important role as regulators in skeletal muscle physiological processes, and we hypothesize that plasma miRNAs expression profiles could be affected by skeletal muscle growth status related to age. Plasma samples of cattle were collected during four different ages from first week of life until the time of commercial end of the fattening period before slaughter. Small-RNA sequencing data analysis revealed the presence of 40% of muscle-related miRNAs among the top 25 highly expressed miRNAs and, 19 miRNAs showed differential expression too. Using qRT-PCR, we validated in a larger bovine population, miRNAs involved in skeletal muscle physiology pathways. Comparing new-born with the other age groups, miR-10b, miR-126-5p, miR-143 and miR-146b were significantly up-regulated, whereas miR-21-5p, miR-221, miR-223 and miR-30b-5p were significantly down-regulated. High expression levels of miR-23a in all the groups were found. Myostatin, a negative regulator of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, was predicted as the target gene for miR-23a and miR-126-5p and we demonstrated their direct binding. Correlation analysis revealed association between miRNAs expression profiles and animals’ weights along the age. Circulating miRNAs could be promising for future studies on their biomarker potentialities to beef cattle selection.