Figure 3

Effects of mild starvation on hepatic miRNA levels. Livers from mildly starved or postabsorptive male and female rats were used to extract miRNA-enriched RNA. cDNA was synthesized from 100 ng of this miRNA-enriched RNA using miRNA specific primers (miR-29b, miR-451, miR-122a) or random hexamers (5S rRNA), and real-time PCR analysis was used to quantify RNA levels. The results were related to corresponding levels in males at four hours of food deprivation and presented as ratios (mean ± S.E.). # indicate significant differences (p < 0.05) between mildly starved (12h FD) and postabsorptive (4h FD) rats, whereas * indicate significant sex-differences (p < 0.05), using student's t-test.