Gene expression data from postnatal cerebellum, prefrontal cortex and liver: comparison on tissue differences (miRNA)

To understand the roles of molecules in functional differentiation among adult human tissues, we performed a systematic survey of mRNA, protein, and protein phosphorylation as well as miRNA expression, in three tissues: cerebellum, prefrontal cortex and liver. We found that tissues were clearly distinct from one another at all levels. Furthermore, our results showed that miRNA differently expressed between tissues have significant, but modest effect on expression of mRNA and somewhat stronger effect on expression of proteins among the tissues. Notably, miRNA preferentially targeted gene regulators, transcription factors and kinases, in all three tissues studied. Following this path, we found that miRNA effect was further amplified through expression changes of target transcription factors and kinases, leading to further changes in their targets’ expression and phosphorylation levels. Importantly, miRNA regulation leads to reduced, rather than increased gene expression variation among individuals between two brain regions. These observations uncover the complexity of miRNA regulatory interactions and are compatible with suggested role of miRNA in gene expression canalization. Adult human post-mortem tissue samples: cerebellum, prefrontal cortex and liver, were collected. Each tissue contains three individuals totalling 9 samples in this datasets. RNA extracted from these dissected tissue was hybridized to Agilent Human miRNA Microarray.