The MRNA Expression Study For Target Genes Of MiR-246and MiR-357-358Involved In PTZ-induced Epilepsy In C.Etegans

It has been known that many C. elegans genes can function similarly to mammalian genes. And its genome is surprisingly similar to that of humans (40%homologous). So C. elegans becomes an attractive organism in the study of human diseases. Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, which is characterized by paroxysmal electrical disturbances of the brain that are manifested as seizures. Most epilepsy researchers have chosen to limit their studies to mammalian organisms, such as mouse and rat, which exemplify nervous system complexities quite similar to those of humans. But this complexity substantially hinders screening for epilepsy genes, as it necessitates costly and inefficient procedures.Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) is a chemical antagonist of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA. It is a common seizure inducer in animal models of epilepsy, such as mice and rats. It has been reported that PTZ can also induce epilepsy-like convulsion in some mutant worms. So our research group used C.elegans as a model to establish a system for screening the genes involved in PTZ-induced epilepsy. miR-246and miR-357-358were the first two miRNAs involved in PTZ-induced epilepsy that we screened by this screening model.In order to know which genes are the target genes for these two epilepsy-related miR-246and miR-357-358.In this study, we first got the predicted target genes of miR-246and miR-357-358by Microcosm target software. Then, we selected8genes for every miRNA, according to their main expression in worm neurous system and important fuction in neurous activities. Last, we check the mRNA expression level of these selected target genes in miR-246and miR-357-358mutant by RT-PCR. Our results showed that the mRNA level of gpa-13was higher in miR-246mutant worms than that in wide type N2. In addition, the mRNA levels of kqt-3, kvs-1, klc-2and jnk-1was increased in mir-357-358mutant worm, compared to wild type worms. These suggested that gpa-13may be one of the target gene of miR-246. And kqt-3, kvs-1, klc-2and jnk-1may be the target gene of miR-357-358.