Supplementary File 2. Early life stress induces genome-wide sex-dependent miRNA expression and correlation across limbic brain areas in rats

Aims: The aim of this
study was to assess regional- and sex-dependent changes in miRNA expression
resulting from early-life stress (ELS).

Materials and
Methods: Small RNA sequencing was used to determine sex-dependent changes in
microRNAs after maternal separation (MS), a rodent model of ELS, across
prefrontal cortex (PFC), amygdala, and hippocampus.

Results: Results
showed that MS induced anhedonia and altered microRNA expression in a
sex-dependent manner, particularly in PFC and hippocampus. Gene ontology
revealed that these microRNAs target genes with brain-specific biological
functions.

Conclusions: Using a network approach to explore
microRNA signaling across the brain after ELS, regional differences were
highlighted as key to studying the brain’s stress response, which indicates
that sex is critical for understanding microRNA-mediated ELS-induced behavior.