Profiling of microRNAs from infant formulas powder: Extraction, functional enrichment analysis, and implications for infant nutrition

Human milk is recognized as a rich source of microRNAs (miRNAs). Compared to human milk, infant formulas lack many benefits of breastfeeding, which is assumed to be due to the deficiency of some of these bioactive molecules. Herein, the profile of miRNAs from infant formulas was identified using a high-throughput small RNA sequencing. The mapped reads to miRBase mature miRNAs were 726 using Bos taurus as the reference species, and the number of known mature miRNAs with read counts more than 1 represented 57. Based on reads per million values, bta-let-7b (154,269.97), bta-let-7a-5p (140,495.87), bta-miR-11975 (27,548.21), bta-let-7f (26,170.80), bta-miR-11976 (24,793.39), bta-miR-2887 (22,038.57), bta-miR-1246 (16,528.93), bta-miR-11980 (15,151.52), bta-miR-423-5p (12,396.69), and bta-miR-200c (12,396.69) were highly expressed. The functional enrichment analysis shows that infant formulas-derived miRNAs may affect stem cell regulation, metabolic signaling, tissue remodeling, and developmental signaling in newborns. The findings of this study could provide valuable insights into formulas-fed infant nutrition. • A high throughput sequencing outlined miRNAs profile in commercial infant formulas. • 57 known mature miRNAs were detected, comprising highly expressed let-7 family members. • Functional enrichment revealed links to immune, stem cell, and metabolic pathways. • Bovine-specific miRNAs (e.g., bta-miR-2887 ) were persevered despite industrial processing. • Results reinforce potential bioactivities of miRNAs in formulas-fed newborn nutrition.