Expression profiles of microRNAs from lactating and non-lactating bovine mammary glands and identification of miRNA related to lactation.

miRNAs have been implicated in the regulation of milk protein synthesis and development of mammary gland. However, the function of miRNAs in regulating lactation is unclear. Therefore, the elucidation of miRNA expression profiles in MG provides a crucial entry into the understanding of the mechanisms of lactation initiation. Our present work is to examine miRNA expression profiles in bovine mammary gland, and to evaluate miRNAs function through the identification of differentially expressed miRNA between lactation and non-lactation mammary gland. Identification of novel miRNAs highlights the important function of low abundance and less conserved miRNAs. An interaction network of known miRNAs and their target genes around the lactation function was constructed to postulate the functional roles of miRNAs in mammary gland. This integrated analysis provides important information that will inspire further experimental investigations into the field of miRNAs and their targets during lactation. Overall design: Examination of 2 different miRNA expression profilings in bovine mammary gland