ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression and role of miRNA-126/miRNA-126(*) in the fetal lung development of rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twelve pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 3 groups and the fetal rats were removed at 16, 19 and 21 days of gestation respectively. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to observe lung morphology of fetal rats. Then microRNA (miRNA) microarray was used to study the expression patterns of miRNA-126/miRNA-126(*) in fetal lungs at the three time points. And miRNA-126(*) was selected for further study by real-time PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no evident difference in the expression of miRNA-126 among the three groups, however the expression level of miRNA-126(*) increased gradually as the fetal lung developed. The real-time PCR result further showed that expression of miRNA-126(*) increased gradually with lung development, displaying significant differences among the three groups (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>miRNA-126(*) may play an important role in development of the fetal lung in rats.</p>