Study on Exploration Potential Anti-Cancer Activity miRNAs and Its Expression Rule Related to Growth Years in Mountain-Cultivated Ginseng

Plant-derived miRNAs exist in mammals in a cross-kingdom manner and many studies have focused on their role in regulating and treating diseases. Mountain-cultivated ginseng ( Panax ginseng C.A. Mey.) is a valuable Chinese medicine with anti-cancer activity. However, the miRNAs with anti-cancer activity are less studied. In this study, 12 mountain-cultivated ginseng samples were collected from Liaoning Province, China, at 4, 15, 18, and 20 growth years, three biological replicates of each growth year were performed. Small RNA libraries were constructed and sequenced on the BGISEQ-500 platform. By sequencing analysis, 299 miRNAs were identified, including 48 known miRNAs and 251 potential novel miRNAs. A total of 4633 potential human genes were predicted as putative targets of miRNAs by using RNA hybrid, Miranda, and Target Scan software. Then 75 miRNAs were screened to target 277 cancer genes. Interestingly, pgi-miR6135a targeted SOS1 to inhibit cancer occurrence, and its expression level increased with the growth years. It is suggested that the expression of miRNA may affect the anti-cancer activity of mountain-cultivated ginseng in different growth years. However, the human targets of mountain-cultivated ginseng miRNAs need to be confirmed through further experimental validation. This study predicted the miRNA of mountain-cultivated ginseng with anti-cancer activity and provided insights for researches investigating the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine from the perspective of cross-kingdom regulation of plant-derived miRNAs.