MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small non-coding RNAs that inhibit gene expression through binding to complementary messenger RNA sequences. miRNAs have been predicted to target genes important for pancreas development, proper endocrine cell function and metabolism. We previously described that miRNA-7 (miR-7) was the most abundant and differentially expressed islet miRNA, with 200-fold higher expression in mature human islets than in acinar tissue. Here we have analyzed the temporal and spatial expression of miR-7 in human fetal pancreas from 8 to 22 weeks of gestational age (wga). Human fetal (8-22wga) and adult pancreases were processed for immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and quantitative RT-PCR of miRNA and mRNA. miR-7 was expressed in the human developing pancreas from around 9wga and reached its maximum expression levels between 14 and 18wga, coinciding with the exponential increase of the pancreatic endocrine hormones. Throughout development miR-7 expression was preferentially localized to endocrine cells and its expression persisted in the adult pancreas. The present study provides a detailed analysis of the spatiotemporal expression of miR-7 in developing human pancreas. The specific localization of miR-7 expression to fetal and adult endocrine cells indicates a potential role for miR-7 in endocrine cell differentiation and/or function. Future functional studies of a potential role for miR-7 function in islet cell differentiation and physiology are likely to identify novel targets for the treatment of diabetes and will lead to the development of improved protocols for generating insulin-producing cells for cell replacement therapy.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
2
2%
Other
7
6%
Unknown
20
17%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 9. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 14 July 2018.
All research outputs
#5,033,882
of 33,942,205 outputs
Outputs from Gene Expression Patterns
#11
of 433 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#26,378
of 246,796 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Gene Expression Patterns
#1
of 7 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 33,942,205 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 83rd percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 433 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 2.9. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 93% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 246,796 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 7 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them
