Liu, Chi-HsiuWang, ZhongxiaoSun, YeSanGiovanni, John PaulChen, Jing2016-11-182016Liu, Chi-Hsiu, Zhongxiao Wang, Ye Sun, John Paul SanGiovanni, and Jing Chen. 2016. “Retinal expression of small non-coding RNAs in a murine model of proliferative retinopathy.” Scientific Reports 6 (1): 33947. doi:10.1038/srep33947. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep33947.2045-2322http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:29407572Ocular neovascularization is a leading cause of blindness in proliferative retinopathy. Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) play critical roles in both vascular and neuronal development of the retina through post-transcriptional regulation of target gene expression. To identify the function and therapeutic potential of sncRNAs in retinopathy, we assessed the expression profile of retinal sncRNAs in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) with pathologic proliferation of neovessels. Approximately 2% of all analyzed sncRNAs were significantly altered in OIR retinas compared with normoxic controls. Twenty three microRNAs with substantial up- or down-regulation were identified, including miR-351, -762, -210, 145, -155, -129-5p, -150, -203, and -375, which were further analyzed for their potential target genes in angiogenic, hypoxic, and immune response-related pathways. In addition, nineteen small nucleolar RNAs also revealed differential expression in OIR retinas compared with control retinas. A decrease of overall microRNA expression in OIR retinas was consistent with reduced microRNA processing enzyme Dicer, and increased expression of Alu element in OIR. Together, our findings elucidated a group of differentially expressed sncRNAs in a murine model of proliferative retinopathy. These sncRNAs may exert critical post-transcriptional regulatory roles in regulating pathological neovascularization in eye diseases.en-USJournal Article2016-11-1810.1038/srep33947