miRNA expression profile in aortas from LysM-Cre/Dicerflox/flox/Apoe–/– mice compared with LysM-Cre/Dicerwt/wt/Apoe–/– mice fed with high-fat diet for 12 weeks. Mus musculus

The global change of the miRNA expression profile during atherosclerosis is due to the infiltration of different types of leukocytes into the arterial vessel wall in addition to disease-specific regulation in vascular cells. Monocyte-derived macrophage accumulation in the subintimal region is critical in the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. However, the role of Dicer, the key enzyme for miRNA biogenesis, during the development of atherosclerosis is currently unknown. To detect the effect of Dicer on miRNA expression in lesional macrophages, the comparison of the miRNA expression profiles was performed in aortas from Apoe deficient mice with or without a myeloid cell-specific knockout of Dicer after 12-week high-fat diet (HFD) programme. This screening combined with functional study may help to identify the crucial miRNAs that play a role in the macrophage function during atherogenesis. Overall design: LysM-Cre/Dicerflox/flox/Apoe–/– and LysM-Cre/Dicerwt/wt/Apoe–/– littermates (6–8 weeks) were fed a high-fat diet comprising 21% crude fat for 12 weeks. The aortas were harvested after in situ perfusion with RNAlater. Total RNA was isolated using mirVana microRNA Isolation Kit.