BioProject

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common acquired heart disease in large- and giant-breed dogs with Doberman Pinschers representing one of the most frequently affected breeds. More...

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common acquired heart disease in large- and giant-breed dogs with Doberman Pinschers representing one of the most frequently affected breeds. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs which play important roles in gene regulation. Different miRNA expression patterns have been described for human DCM and might represent potential diagnostic markers. There are no studies to date investigating miRNA expression profiles in canine DCM. Goals: The goals of this study were to screen the miRNAs expression profile of canine serum by using a miRNA microarray platform and to compare the miRNA expression patterns of a group of Doberman Pinschers with DCM and healthy controls. Results: Although total RNA concentrations were very low in canine serum samples, 421 different miRNAs were detectable with sufficient signal intensity on the miRNA microarrays. About 30 miRNAs were differentially expressed in the two groups, but did not reach statistical significance. No significant differences were found using specific miRNA PCR assays. Conclusions: More than 400 miRNAs can be detected in canine serum samples. Changes in expression levels of various miRNAs between healthy and DCM dogs could be detected, but the results did not reach statistical significance most probably due to the small group size. miRNAs are potential new circulating biomarkers in veterinary medicine and should be investigated in larger patient groups and additional canine diseases Overall design: Blood was drawn from two groups of Doberman Pinschers: 4 healthy dogs and 4 dogs suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy. After clotting, samples were centrifuged and total mRNA was extracted from serum. These 8 serum samples were analyzed and the groups were compared Less...