Differential expression of circulating miRNAs in pregnant mares.

<p>Expression of circulating miRNAs was analyzed using quantitative PCR to identify miRNAs with significantly different expression during pregnancy. Samples were grouped into pregnant (8, 9, 10 m gestation, postpartum (PP)) or non-pregnant (diestrus) samples and analyzed by one-way ANOVA corrected for false discovery rate (Benjamini-Hochberg; P < 0.05), with post-hoc analysis performed by student’s t-test (P < 0.1). Data were normalized by ΔCt = Ct_(target)−Ct_{(mean of the sample)}, with each point representing the ΔCt for an individual mare. A lower ΔCt value indicates a higher expression level; for each 1-point reduction in ΔCt, an approximately 2-fold increase in expression can be assumed. Significantly different samples are indicated by varying superscripts.