International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article Distinct miRNA Signatures and Networks Discern Fetal from Adult Erythroid Differentiation and Primary from Immortalized Erythroid Cells Panayiota L. Papasavva 1,2, Nikoletta Y. Papaioannou 1,2, Petros Patsali 1,2 , Ryo Kurita 3, Yukio Nakamura 3, Maria Sitarou 4, Soteroulla Christou 5, Marina Kleanthous 1,2,† and Carsten W. Lederer 1,2,*,† 1 Department of Molecular Genetics Thalassemia, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus;
[email protected] (P.L.P.);
[email protected] (N.Y.P.);
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[email protected] (M.K.) 2 Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus 3 Cell Engineering Division, RIKEN BioResource Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan;
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[email protected] (Y.N.) 4 Thalassemia Clinic Larnaca, Larnaca General Hospital, Larnaca 6301, Cyprus;
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[email protected] † Contributed equally to this work. Abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs crucial for post-transcriptional and translational regulation of cellular and developmental pathways. The study of miRNAs in erythro- Citation: Papasavva, P.L.; poiesis elucidates underlying regulatory mechanisms and facilitates related diagnostic and therapy Papaioannou, N.Y.; Patsali, P.; Kurita, development. Here, we used DNA Nanoball (DNB) small RNA sequencing to comprehensively R.; Nakamura, Y.; Sitarou, M.; characterize miRNAs in human erythroid cell cultures. Based on primary human peripheral-blood- Christou, S.; Kleanthous, M.; Lederer, derived CD34+ (hCD34+) cells and two influential erythroid cell lines with adult and fetal hemoglobin C.W.