Figure 1

Expression profile of miRNAs in human breast milk. (a) RNA isolation from breast milk. RNA from breast milk was detected using a Bioanalyzer. The milk contains a substantial amount of small RNA (<300 nt), but very little or no ribosomal RNA (18S and 28S rRNA). (b--d) Expression profiling of miRNAs in human breast milk from miRNA microarray. (b) miRNAs in breast milk that were detected or hardly detected by microarray analysis. (c) Upper panel: a clustering analysis of the expression of breast milk miRNAs before and after the infants received complementary food. Samples 1, 2 and 3 were from different mothers. Breast milk samples were taken during the first 6 months after birth (0--6) and during the subsequent months (6+). Lower panel: Strongly expressed miRNA in breast milk before and after the infants received complementary food. (d) Correlation of gene expression signals between samples obtained from the same mother during the first 6 months and during the following 6 months are shown. The relationship between samples from different mothers was not as close.