We also examined ethanol-induced miRNA transcriptomic changes in hESC-derived cortical interneurons (as a cellular model) by small RNA-seq. A 7-day ethanol exposure led to differential expression of six miRNAs (absolute FC > 2.0 & P < 0.05) in hESC-derived cortical interneurons. Three miRNAs (miR-151b, miR-151a-5p, and miR-3135a) were upregulated (>2-fold increase & P < 0.05), while three other miRNAs (miR-548bc, miR-3609, and miR-493-5p) were downregulated (>2-fold decrease & P < 0.05) due to ethanol exposure (Fig. S7 and Table S4). The expression of miR-412-5p, which was downregulated in multiple brain regions of AUD subjects, was on a decreasing trend (1.3-fold decrease & P = 0.263) in ethanol-exposed hESC-derived cortical interneurons.
