miRNA Profiling of Exosomes from Spontaneous Hypertensive Rats by Next-Generation Sequencing

The role and miRNA expression profile of exosomes in hypertension remain largely unknown, therefore, next generation sequencing was used to define the miRNA expression profile of plasma exosomes in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), the most widely used animal model of human essential hypertension, and their controls, normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKYs). Results revealed that percentages of miRNA in the total small RNA isolated from WKYs and SHRs were not significantly different. Twenty-seven miRNAs were significantly differentially expressed (DE) between WKY and SHR exosomes, among which 23 were upregulated and 4 were downregulated in SHR exosomes compared with WKY exosomes. Gene Ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis of top 10 DE miRNAs identified hypertension-specific target genes/signaling pathways. In conclusion, our findings indicate the selective packing of miRNA cargoes into exosomes under hypertensive status, while facilitating the development of potential targets for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of hypertension. Exosome miRNA profiles of Wistar-Kyoto rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats were generated by next-generation sequencing, in sextuplicate, using Illumina Hiseq 2500.