Islet microRNA changes in the rat pancreatic islets during aging

comparison of microRNA expression in the islets of 3- and 12-months old male Wistar rats Aging is a risk factor for a majority of metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes. During aging pancreatic beta-cell function decreases leading to impaired insulin secretion and proliferation and to an increase in apoptosis. Impairment of pancreatic beta cell functions and survival has been linked to gene expression changes. The aim of our study was to obtain a global expression profile of microRNAs and mRNAs of pancreatic islets of 3 and 12 month old male Wistar rats in order to identify the changes occurring during aging. Total RNA isolated from the pancreatic islets of three 3-month old and four 12-month old rats was analyzed by microarray to determine the microRNA profile