The effect of estrogen on microRNA expression in primary cultured rat neonatal cardiomyocytes

Dysregulation of miRs has been reported in a variety of cardiac diseases. In particular, it has reported that estrogen regulates a miRs network in female cardiac fibroblasts, thereby modulating a spectrum of genes involved in cardiac fibrosis and remodeling. However, the estrogen-responsive miRs in cardiomyocytes still remain to be elucidated. We used a microRNA microarray screening approach to address the miRs expression profiling in estrogen-treated cardiomyocytes. Primary cultured rat neonatal cardiomyocytes were treated with 17beta-estradiol (E2) for 24h. Cells were then used for microRNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA 2.0 Array.