MicroRNAs (
miRNAs or miRs) are non-coding RNAs that contribute to
pathological processes of various
kidney diseases. Renal function injury represents a final common outcome of congenital obstructive nephropathy and has attracted a great deal of attention. However the molecular mechanisms are still not fully established. In this study, we compared transcriptome sequencing data of
miRNAs of renal tissues from congenital
hydronephrosis children with or without renal functional injury, in order to better understand whether
microRNAs could play important roles in renal functional injury after ureteropelvic junction obstruction. A total of 22
microRNAs with significant changes in their expression were identified. Five
microRNAs were up-regulated and 17
microRNAs were down-regulated in the renal tissues of the
hydronephrosis patients with renal function injury compared with those without renal function injury.
MicroRNA target genes were predicted by three major online
miRNA target prediction algorithms, and all these mRNAs were used to perform the gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes pathway analysis. Then, twelve candidate human and rat homologous
miRNAs were selected for validation using RT-qPCR in vitro and in vivo; only miR-187-3p had a trend identical to that detected by the sequencing results among the human tissues, in vivo and in vitro experimental models. In addition, we found that the change of miR-187-3p in vivo was consistent with results in vitro models and showed a decrease trend in time dependence. These results provided a detailed catalog of candidate
miRNAs to investigate their regulatory role in renal injury of congenital
hydronephrosis, indicating that they may serve as candidate
biomarkers or therapeutic targets in the future.