Sexual difference of small RNA expression in Tetralogy of Fallot.

Small RNAs, especially the microRNAs, have been revealed to play great roles in heart development and congenital heart defects. Several studies have shown dysregulated miRNAs in ventricular tissues of Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) patients. In the present study, we conducted high throughput sequencing to obtain the global profiling of small RNA transcriptome in heart right ventricular samples from 10 age -matched TOF patients. These samples showed dominant composition of miRNA and mitochondrial associated RNAs. By sRNA cluster identification and differential gene expression analysis, significant sexual difference was discovered for sRNA expression in TOF patients. miR-1/miR-133, which have been identified as essential for cardiac development, account for the most variance of sRNA expression between sexes in TOF hearts.