miRNA profiling of MCF7 autocrine hGH

MicroRNAs are widely expressed in the normal pubertal mammary gland and orchestrate mammary gland development by regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and metabolism. Although human Growth hormone(hGH) plays fundamental roles in normal mammary gland development and elevated autocrine hGH levels have been documented to contribute to breast cancer, whether hGH should influence the expression pattern and the functional roles of miRNAs in this context remain unknown.This study explores the effects of autocrine hGH on microRNA expression in MCF7 cell. MCF7 cells with stably integrated hGH and Mut hGH were cultured for a total of 24 h in serum-free medium before processing for RNA preparation. Total miRNA was isolated, labeled and hybridized to the miRNA microarray as described by the manufacturer (Invitrogen). The hybridized slides were then analyzed on a GenePix scanner.