Gene expression in bronchial cells transfected with microRNAs.

<p><i>Homo sapiens</i> (hsa)-miRNAs with a high degree of homology to mRNAs encoding neurotrophic factors or receptors were selected from our microarray dataset, and mimic oligonucleotides of the precursors for each of these miRNAs were transfected into human bronchial epithelial cells to study their individual role in modulating neurotrophin expression. PCR measured maximally reduced concentrations of both NGF and TrKA transcripts in bronchial epithelial cells overexpressing miR-221. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 3–4 per group). * = p<0.01 compared to cells transfected with the negative control miRNA.