Circulating microRNAs reprogramming are involved in early acclimatization to high altitude in humans

Altitude acclimatization is the physiological process to restore oxygen delivery to the tissues and promote the oxygen application under high altitude hypoxia. High altitude illness could happen in individuals who did not get acclimatization. Unraveling the molecular underpinnings of altitude acclimatization would help people to understand the beneficial response of body to high altitude hypoxia and disturbed biological process in un-acclimatized individuals. Here, we measured physiological adjustments and circulating microRNAs (cmiRNAs) profiles of individuals exposed to high altitude to explore the altitude acclimatization in humans. In this study presented here, a total of 22 volunteers were enrolled in this study. Circulating microRNA (cmiRNAs) expression profiles were scanned by miRCURYTM LNA Array (v.18.0) (Exiqon) array in all individuals before and after exposure to high altitude. Eighty-six cmiRNAs (79 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated) showed differential expression with statistical significance after exposure to high altitude.