Signature microRNA expression profile is associated with spontaneous hypertension in African green monkey

<i>Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus</i>, the African Green monkey (AGM), has been proved to exhibit renal vascular remodeling and spontaneous hypertension. However, little is known about the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in this process.Using small RNA deep sequencing, we compared the plasma miRNA expression patterns between hypertensive (HT) AGMs and normotensive (NT) AGMs. Expression of miRNAs (miR-122, miR-339, miR-296-5p) was validated independently in plasma samples from 10 HT AGMs and 10 NT AGMs (fold changes are 2.0, 1.6, 2.7 respectively; all <i>P</i>&lt; 0.001). Potential BP (blood pressure)-regulating mRNA targets were predicted by TargetScan and confirmed in the Vero cells. We report for the first time a circulating miRNA profile for AGM. miRNAs, such as miR-122, miR-339, miR-296-5p, may be involved in renal pathologies and spontaneous hypertension of AGM.