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Gonzáles-Córdova RA, Dos Santos TR, Gachet-Castro C, Andrade Vieira J, Trajano-Silva LAM, Sakamoto-Hojo ET, Baqui MMA. Trypanosoma cruzi infection induces DNA double-strand breaks and activates DNA damage response pathway in host epithelial cells. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5225. [PMID: 38433244 PMCID: PMC10909859 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53589-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, invades many cell types affecting numerous host-signalling pathways. During the T. cruzi infection, we demonstrated modulations in the host RNA polymerase II activity with the downregulation of ribonucleoproteins affecting host transcription and splicing machinery. These alterations could be a result of the initial damage to the host DNA caused by the presence of the parasite, however, the mechanisms are not well understood. Herein, we examined whether infection by T. cruzi coincided with enhanced DNA damage in the host cell. We studied the engagement of the DNA damage response (DDR) pathways at the different time points (0-24 h post-infection, hpi) by T. cruzi in LLC-MK2 cells. In response to double-strand breaks (DSB), maximum phosphorylation of the histone variant H2AX is observed at 2hpi and promotes recruitment of the DDR p53-binding protein (53BP1). During T. cruzi infection, Ataxia-telangiectasia mutated protein (ATM) and DNA-PK protein kinases remained active in a time-dependent manner and played roles in regulating the host response to DSB. The host DNA lesions caused by the infection are likely orchestrated by the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway to maintain the host genome integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raul Alexander Gonzáles-Córdova
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo-USP, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Thamires Rossi Dos Santos
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo-USP, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Camila Gachet-Castro
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo-USP, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Johnathan Andrade Vieira
- Department of Genetics, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo-USP, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Lays Adrianne Mendonça Trajano-Silva
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo-USP, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil
| | - Elza Tiemi Sakamoto-Hojo
- Department of Genetics, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo-USP, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Philosophy Sciences and Letters at Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Munira Muhammad Abdel Baqui
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Pathogenic Bioagents, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo-USP, Ribeirão Preto, 14049-900, Brazil.
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Aljedaie MM, Alam P. In silico identification of human microRNAs pointing centrin genes in Leishmania donovani: Considering the RNAi-mediated gene control. Front Genet 2024; 14:1329339. [PMID: 38390455 PMCID: PMC10883313 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1329339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease caused by different species of the protozoa parasite Leishmania, is a neglected tropical human disease that is endemic in about a hundred countries worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the annual incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is estimated to be 0.7-1.2 million cases globally, whereas the annual incidence of visceral leishmaniasis is estimated to be 0.2-0.4 million cases. In many eukaryotic organisms, including human beings and protozoan parasites, centrin genes encode proteins that play essential roles within the centrosome or basal body. Human microRNAs (miRNAs) have been linked to several infectious and non-infectious diseases associated with pathogen-host interactions, and they play the emphatic roles as gene expression regulators. In this study, we used the MirTarget bioinformatics tool, which is a machine learning-based approach implemented in miRDB, to predict the target of human miRNAs in Leishmania donovani centrin genes. For cross-validation, we utilized additional prediction algorithms, namely, RNA22 and RNAhybrid, targeting all five centrin isotypes. The centrin-3 (LDBPK_342160) and putative centrin-5 (NC_018236.1) genes in L. donovani were targeted by eight and twelve human miRNAs, respectively, among 2,635 known miRNAs (miRBase). hsa-miR-5193 consistently targeted both genes. Using TargetScan, TarBase, miRecords, and miRTarBase, we identified miRNA targets and off-targets in human homologs of centrin, inflammation, and immune-responsive genes. Significant targets were screened based on GO terminologies and KEGG pathway-enrichment analysis (Log10 p-value >0.0001). In silico tools that predict the biological roles of human miRNAs as primary gene regulators in pathogen-host interactions help unravel the regulatory patterns of these miRNAs, particularly in the early stages of inflammatory responses. It is also noted that these miRNAs played an important role in the late phase of adaptive immune response, inclusively their impacts on the immune system's response to L. donovani.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manei M Aljedaie
- Department of Biology, College of Sciences and Humanities, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
| | - Pravej Alam
- Department of Biology, College of Sciences and Humanities, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
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Fernandes JCR, Muxel SM, López-Gonzálvez MA, Barbas C, Floeter-Winter LM. Early Leishmania infectivity depends on miR-372/373/520d family-mediated reprogramming of polyamines metabolism in THP-1-derived macrophages. Sci Rep 2024; 14:996. [PMID: 38200138 PMCID: PMC10781704 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51511-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Leishmania amazonensis is a protozoan that primarily causes cutaneous leishmaniasis in humans. The parasite relies on the amino acid arginine to survive within macrophages and establish infection, since it is a precursor for producing polyamines. On the other hand, arginine can be metabolized via nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) to produce the microbicidal molecule nitric oxide (NO), although this mechanism does not apply to human macrophages since they lack NOS2 activity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at posttranscriptional levels. Our previous work showed that mmu-miR-294 targets Nos2 favoring Leishmania survival in murine macrophages. Here, we demonstrate that human macrophages upregulate the hsa-miR-372, hsa-miR-373, and hsa-miR-520d, which present the same seed sequence as the murine mmu-miR-294. Inhibition of the miR-372 impaired Leishmania survival in THP-1 macrophages and the effect was further enhanced with combinatorial inhibition of the miR-372/373/520d family, pointing to a cooperative mechanism. However, this reduction in survival is not caused by miRNA-targeting of NOS2, since the seed-binding motif found in mice is not conserved in the human 3'UTR. Instead, we showed the miR-372/373/520d family targeting the macrophage's main arginine transporter SLC7A2/CAT2 during infection. Arginine-related metabolism was markedly altered in response to infection and miRNA inhibition, as measured by Mass Spectrometry-based metabolomics. We found that Leishmania infection upregulates polyamines production in macrophages, as opposed to simultaneous inhibition of miR-372/373/520d, which decreased putrescine and spermine levels compared to the negative control. Overall, our study demonstrates miRNA-dependent modulation of polyamines production, establishing permissive conditions for intracellular parasite survival. Although the effector mechanisms causing host cell immunometabolic adaptations involve various parasite and host-derived signals, our findings suggest that the miR-372/373/520d family may represent a potential target for the development of new therapeutic strategies against cutaneous leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- J C R Fernandes
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical da Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMT-FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo (IB-USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - S M Muxel
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo (ICB-USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - M A López-Gonzálvez
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28660, Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain
| | - C Barbas
- Centre for Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Urbanización Montepríncipe, 28660, Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain
| | - L M Floeter-Winter
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo (IB-USP), São Paulo, Brazil.
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Lago T, Medina L, Lago J, Santana N, Cardoso T, Rocha A, Leal-Calvo T, Carvalho EM, Castellucci LC. MicroRNAs regulating macrophages infected with Leishmania L. ( V.) Braziliensis isolated from different clinical forms of American tegumentary leishmaniasis. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1280949. [PMID: 38143766 PMCID: PMC10748487 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1280949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. There are still no vaccines, and therapeutic options are limited, indicating the constant need to understand the fine mechanisms of its pathophysiology. An approach that has been explored in leishmaniasis is the participation of microRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs that act, in most cases, to repress gene expression. miRNAs play a role in the complex and plastic interaction between the host and pathogens, either as part of the host's immune response to neutralize infection or as a molecular strategy employed by the pathogen to modulate host pathways to its own benefit. Methods Monocyte-derived macrophages from healthy subjects were infected with isolates of three clinical forms of L. braziliensis: cutaneous (CL), mucosal (ML), and disseminated (DL) leishmaniasis. We compared the expression of miRNAs that take part in the TLR/NFkB pathways. Correlations with parasite load as well as immune parameters were analyzed. Results miRNAs -103a-3p, -21-3p, 125a-3p -155-5p, -146a-5p, -132- 5p, and -147a were differentially expressed in the metastatic ML and DL forms, and there was a direct correlation between miRNAs -103a-3p, -21-3p, -155-5p, -146a-5p, -132-5p, and -9-3p and parasite load with ML and DL isolates. We also found a correlation between the expression of miR-21-3p and miR-146a-5p with the antiapoptotic gene BCL2 and the increase of viable cells, whereas miR-147a was indirectly correlated with CXCL-9 levels. Conclusion The expression of miRNAs is strongly correlated with the parasite load and the inflammatory response, suggesting the participation of these molecules in the pathogenesis of the different clinical forms of L. braziliensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tainã Lago
- Serviço de Imunologia da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações, CNPq, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Lilian Medina
- Serviço de Imunologia da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Jamile Lago
- Serviço de Imunologia da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações, CNPq, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Nadja Santana
- Serviço de Imunologia da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Thiago Cardoso
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações, CNPq, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas (LAPEC), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz-FIOCRUZ, Sakvador, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Alan Rocha
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas (LAPEC), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz-FIOCRUZ, Sakvador, Bahia, Brazil
| | | | - Edgar M. Carvalho
- Serviço de Imunologia da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações, CNPq, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas (LAPEC), Instituto Gonçalo Moniz-FIOCRUZ, Sakvador, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Léa Cristina Castellucci
- Serviço de Imunologia da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovações e Comunicações, CNPq, Brasília, DF, Brazil
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5
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Habibi B, Gholami S, Bagheri A, Fakhar M, Moradi A, Khazeei Tabari MA. Cystic echinococcosis microRNAs as potential noninvasive biomarkers: current insights and upcoming perspective. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2023; 23:885-894. [PMID: 37553726 DOI: 10.1080/14737159.2023.2246367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Echinococcosis, also known as hydatidosis, is a zoonotic foodborne disease occurred by infection with the larvae of Echinococcus spp. which can lead to the development of hydatid cysts in various organs of the host. The diagnosis of echinococcosis remains challenging due to limited diagnostic tools. AREAS COVERED In recent years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as a promising biomarker for various infectious diseases, including those caused by helminths. Recent studies have identified several novel miRNAs in Echinococcus spp. shedding light on their essential roles in hydatid cyst host-parasite interactions. In this regard, several studies have shown that Echinococcus-derived miRNAs are present in biofluids such as serum and plasma of infected hosts. The detection of these miRNAs in the early stages of infection can serve as an early prognostic and diagnostic biomarker for echinococcosis. EXPERT OPINION The miRNAs specific to Echinococcus spp. show great potential as early diagnostic biomarkers for echinococcosis and can also provide insights into the pathogenesis of this disease. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of Echinococcus-specific miRNAs, their use as early diagnostic biomarkers, and their function in host-parasite interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bentolhoda Habibi
- Department of Parasitology, Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Mazandaran Registry Center for Hydatid Cyst, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Shirzad Gholami
- Department of Parasitology, Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Mazandaran Registry Center for Hydatid Cyst, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Abouzar Bagheri
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry-Biophysics and Genetics, Immunogenetics Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Mahdi Fakhar
- Department of Parasitology, Toxoplasmosis Research Center, Mazandaran Registry Center for Hydatid Cyst, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
- Iranian National Registry Center for Lophomoniasis and Toxoplasmosis, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Alimohammad Moradi
- Department of General Surgery Division of HPB and Transplantation Surgery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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6
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Rego N, Libisch MG, Rovira C, Tosar JP, Robello C. Comparative microRNA profiling of Trypanosoma cruzi infected human cells. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1187375. [PMID: 37424776 PMCID: PMC10322668 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1187375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, can infect almost any nucleated cell in the mammalian host. Although previous studies have described the transcriptomic changes that occur in host cells during parasite infection, the understanding of the role of post-transcriptional regulation in this process is limited. MicroRNAs, a class of short non-coding RNAs, are key players in regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, and their involvement in the host-T. cruzi interplay is a growing area of research. However, to our knowledge, there are no comparative studies on the microRNA changes that occur in different cell types in response to T. cruzi infection. Methods and results Here we investigated microRNA changes in epithelial cells, cardiomyocytes and macrophages infected with T. cruzi for 24 hours, using small RNA sequencing followed by careful bioinformatics analysis. We show that, although microRNAs are highly cell type-specific, a signature of three microRNAs -miR-146a, miR-708 and miR-1246, emerges as consistently responsive to T. cruzi infection across representative human cell types. T. cruzi lacks canonical microRNA-induced silencing mechanisms and we confirm that it does not produce any small RNA that mimics known host microRNAs. We found that macrophages show a broad response to parasite infection, while microRNA changes in epithelial and cardiomyocytes are modest. Complementary data indicated that cardiomyocyte response may be greater at early time points of infection. Conclusions Our findings emphasize the significance of considering microRNA changes at the cellular level and complement previous studies conducted at higher organizational levels, such as heart samples. While miR-146a has been previously implicated in T. cruzi infection, similarly to its involvement in many other immunological responses, miR-1246 and miR-708 are demonstrated here for the first time. Given their expression in multiple cell types, we anticipate our work as a starting point for future investigations into their role in the post-transcriptional regulation of T. cruzi infected cells and their potential as biomarkers for Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Rego
- Unidad de Bioinformática, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Laboratorio de Genómica Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - María Gabriela Libisch
- Laboratorio de Interacciones Hospedero Patógeno/UBM, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Carlos Rovira
- Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Division of Oncology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Juan Pablo Tosar
- Laboratorio de Genómica Funcional, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Unidad de Bioquímica Analítica, Centro de Investigaciones Nucleares, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Carlos Robello
- Laboratorio de Interacciones Hospedero Patógeno/UBM, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
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Hadipour M, Fasihi Harandi M, Mirhendi H, Yousofi Darani H. Diagnosis of echinococcosis by detecting circulating cell-free DNA and miRNA. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2023; 23:133-142. [PMID: 36756744 DOI: 10.1080/14737159.2023.2178903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Diagnosis of echinococcosis is difficult and usually performed based on clinical findings, imaging, and serological test. However, all of them have limitations, especially in follow-up approaches. AREAS COVERED Detection of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and micro-RNA (miRNA) is currently a hot topic for diagnosis of echinococcosis diseases. For detecting cell-free DNA in echinococcosis patient's samples such as sera, some techniques are based on next-generation sequencing (NGS), DNA-deep sequencing, some are based on PCR-based methods, and a few works related to the detection of miRNA for the diagnosis of human echinococcosis. EXPERT OPINION In the detection of cell-free DNA in echinococcosis patient' samples, NGS and DNA-deep sequencing have shown high level of sensitivity, but are not suitable for routine clinical examination as they are expensive and inaccessible in the majority of endemic areas. However, PCR-based methods have shown a sensitivity of about 20-25%. To improve the sensitivity of these tests, improving the DNA extraction method, designing appropriate primers for detecting short-length fragments of circulating DNA, using a higher volume of a serum sample, and application of more sensitive PCR methods are recommended. In the field of miRNA detection, further works are recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahboubeh Hadipour
- Department of parasitology and mycology, Faculty of medicine, Isfahan University of Medical sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Majid Fasihi Harandi
- Research center for Hydatid disease in Iran, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Hossein Mirhendi
- Department of parasitology and mycology, Faculty of medicine, Isfahan University of Medical sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Hossein Yousofi Darani
- Department of parasitology and mycology, Faculty of medicine, Isfahan University of Medical sciences, Isfahan, Iran
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8
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Fernandes JCR, Gonçalves ANA, Floeter-Winter LM, Nakaya HI, Muxel SM. Comparative transcriptomic analysis of long noncoding RNAs in Leishmania-infected human macrophages. Front Genet 2023; 13:1051568. [PMID: 36685903 PMCID: PMC9845402 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1051568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
It is well established that infection with Leishmania alters the host cell's transcriptome. Since mammalian cells have multiple mechanisms to control gene expression, different molecules, such as noncoding RNAs, can be involved in this process. MicroRNAs have been extensively studied upon Leishmania infection, but whether long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are also altered in macrophages is still unexplored. We performed RNA-seq from THP-1-derived macrophages infected with Leishmania amazonensis (La), L. braziliensis (Lb), and L. infantum (Li), investigating a previously unappreciated fraction of macrophage transcriptome. We found that more than 24% of the total annotated transcripts and 30% of differentially expressed (DE) RNAs in Leishmania-infected macrophage correspond to lncRNAs. LncRNAs and protein coding RNAs with altered expression are similar among macrophages infected with the Leishmania species. Still, some species-specific alterations could occur due to distinct pathophysiology in which Li infection led to a more significant number of exclusively DE RNAs. The most represented classes among DE lncRNAs were intergenic and antisense lncRNAs. We also found enrichment for immune response-related pathways in the DE protein coding RNAs, as well as putative targets of the lncRNAs. We performed a coexpression analysis to explore potential cis regulation of coding and antisense noncoding transcripts. We identified that antisense lncRNAs are similarly regulated as its neighbor protein coding genes, such as the BAALC/BAALC-AS1, BAALC/BAALC-AS2, HIF1A/HIF1A-AS1, HIF1A/HIF1A-AS3 and IRF1/IRF1-AS1 pairs, which can occur as a species-specific modulation. These findings are a novelty in the field because, to date, no study has focused on analyzing lncRNAs in Leishmania-infected macrophage. Our results suggest that lncRNAs may account for a novel mechanism by which Leishmania can control macrophage function. Further research must validate putative lncRNA targets and provide additional prospects in lncRNA function during Leishmania infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane C. R. Fernandes
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil,Instituto de Medicina Tropical da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Lucile M. Floeter-Winter
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Sandra M. Muxel
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil,*Correspondence: Sandra M. Muxel,
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9
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Ben-Cheikh A, Bali A, Guerfali FZ, Atri C, Attia H, Laouini D. Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1 Alpha Stabilization in Human Macrophages during Leishmania major Infection Is Impaired by Parasite Virulence. THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY 2022; 60:317-325. [PMID: 36320108 PMCID: PMC9633161 DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2022.60.5.317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) is one of the master regulators of immune and metabolic cellular functions. HIF-1α, a transcriptional factor whose activity is closely related to oxygen levels, is a target for understanding infectious disease control. Several studies have demonstrated that HIF-1α plays an important role during the infectious process, while its role in relation to parasite virulence has not been addressed. In this work, we studied the expression levels of HIF-1α and related angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in human macrophages infected with promastigotes of hypo- or hyper-virulent Leishmania major human isolates. L. major parasites readily subverted host macrophage functions for their survival and induced local oxygen consumption at the site of infection. In contrast to hypo-virulent parasites that induce high HIF-1α expression levels, hyper-virulent L. major reduced HIF-1α expression in macrophages under normoxic or hypoxic conditions, and consequently impeded the expression of VEGF-A mRNA. HIF-1α may play a key role during control of disease chronicity, severity, or outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Ben-Cheikh
- Institut Pasteur de Tunis, LR16IPT02, Laboratory of Transmission, Control and Immunobiology of Infections (LTCII), Tunis,
Tunisia,Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis,
Tunisia,Faculty of Sciences, Tunis,
Tunisia
| | - Aymen Bali
- Institut Pasteur de Tunis, LR16IPT02, Laboratory of Transmission, Control and Immunobiology of Infections (LTCII), Tunis,
Tunisia,Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis,
Tunisia
| | - Fatma Z Guerfali
- Institut Pasteur de Tunis, LR16IPT02, Laboratory of Transmission, Control and Immunobiology of Infections (LTCII), Tunis,
Tunisia,Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis,
Tunisia
| | - Chiraz Atri
- Institut Pasteur de Tunis, LR16IPT02, Laboratory of Transmission, Control and Immunobiology of Infections (LTCII), Tunis,
Tunisia,Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis,
Tunisia
| | - Hanène Attia
- Institut Pasteur de Tunis, LR16IPT02, Laboratory of Transmission, Control and Immunobiology of Infections (LTCII), Tunis,
Tunisia,Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis,
Tunisia
| | - Dhafer Laouini
- Institut Pasteur de Tunis, LR16IPT02, Laboratory of Transmission, Control and Immunobiology of Infections (LTCII), Tunis,
Tunisia,Université Tunis El Manar, Tunis,
Tunisia,Corresponding author (; )
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10
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Jafarzadeh A, Nemati M, Aminizadeh N, Bodhale N, Sarkar A, Jafarzadeh S, Sharifi I, Saha B. Bidirectional cytokine-microRNA control: A novel immunoregulatory framework in leishmaniasis. PLoS Pathog 2022; 18:e1010696. [PMID: 35925884 PMCID: PMC9351994 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
As effector innate immune cells and as a host to the protozoan parasite Leishmania, macrophages play a dual role in antileishmanial immunoregulation. The 2 key players in this immunoregulation are the macrophage-expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) and the macrophage-secreted cytokines. miRNAs, as small noncoding RNAs, play vital roles in macrophage functions including cytokines and chemokines production. In the reverse direction, Leishmania-regulated cytokines alter miRNAs expression to regulate the antileishmanial functions of macrophages. The miRNA patterns vary with the time and stage of infection. The cytokine-regulated macrophage miRNAs not only help parasite elimination or persistence but also regulate cytokine production from macrophages. Based on these observations, we propose a novel immunoregulatory framework as a scientific rationale for antileishmanial therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdollah Jafarzadeh
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
- Molecular Medicine Research Center, Research Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- * E-mail: (AJ); (BS)
| | - Maryam Nemati
- Immunology of Infectious Diseases Research Center, Research Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- Department of Haematology and Laboratory Sciences, School of Para-Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Najmeh Aminizadeh
- Department of Histology, School of Medicine, Islamic Azad University Branch of Kerman, Kerman
| | | | - Arup Sarkar
- Trident Academy of Creative Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Sara Jafarzadeh
- Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran
| | - Iraj Sharifi
- Leishmaniasis Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Bhaskar Saha
- National Centre For Cell Science, Pune, India
- Trident Academy of Creative Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
- * E-mail: (AJ); (BS)
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11
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Rojas-Pirela M, Andrade-Alviárez D, Medina L, Castillo C, Liempi A, Guerrero-Muñoz J, Ortega Y, Maya JD, Rojas V, Quiñones W, Michels PA, Kemmerling U. MicroRNAs: master regulators in host-parasitic protist interactions. Open Biol 2022; 12:210395. [PMID: 35702995 PMCID: PMC9198802 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.210395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNAs present in a wide diversity of organisms. MiRNAs regulate gene expression at a post-transcriptional level through their interaction with the 3' untranslated regions of target mRNAs, inducing translational inhibition or mRNA destabilization and degradation. Thus, miRNAs regulate key biological processes, such as cell death, signal transduction, development, cellular proliferation and differentiation. The dysregulation of miRNAs biogenesis and function is related to the pathogenesis of diseases, including parasite infection. Moreover, during host-parasite interactions, parasites and host miRNAs determine the probability of infection and progression of the disease. The present review is focused on the possible role of miRNAs in the pathogenesis of diseases of clinical interest caused by parasitic protists. In addition, the potential role of miRNAs as targets for the design of drugs and diagnostic and prognostic markers of parasitic diseases is also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maura Rojas-Pirela
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile,Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, Chile,Facultad de Farmacia y Bioanálisis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Diego Andrade-Alviárez
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Lisvaneth Medina
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile
| | - Christian Castillo
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile,Núcleo de Investigación Aplicada en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Agronomía, Universidad de Las Américas, Chile
| | - Ana Liempi
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile
| | - Jesús Guerrero-Muñoz
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile
| | - Yessica Ortega
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile,Facultad de Farmacia y Bioanálisis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Juan Diego Maya
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile
| | - Verónica Rojas
- Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2373223, Chile
| | - Wilfredo Quiñones
- Laboratorio de Enzimología de Parásitos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela
| | - Paul A. Michels
- Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution and Centre for Translational and Chemical Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK
| | - Ulrike Kemmerling
- Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile 8380453, Chile
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12
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Gupta AK, Das S, Kamran M, Ejazi SA, Ali N. The Pathogenicity and Virulence of Leishmania - interplay of virulence factors with host defenses. Virulence 2022; 13:903-935. [PMID: 35531875 PMCID: PMC9154802 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2022.2074130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a group of disease caused by the intracellular protozoan parasite of the genus Leishmania. Infection by different species of Leishmania results in various host immune responses, which usually lead to parasite clearance and may also contribute to pathogenesis and, hence, increasing the complexity of the disease. Interestingly, the parasite tends to reside within the unfriendly environment of the macrophages and has evolved various survival strategies to evade or modulate host immune defense. This can be attributed to the array of virulence factors of the vicious parasite, which target important host functioning and machineries. This review encompasses a holistic overview of leishmanial virulence factors, their role in assisting parasite-mediated evasion of host defense weaponries, and modulating epigenetic landscapes of host immune regulatory genes. Furthermore, the review also discusses the diagnostic potential of various leishmanial virulence factors and the advent of immunomodulators as futuristic antileishmanial drug therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anand Kumar Gupta
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Sonali Das
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Mohd Kamran
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Sarfaraz Ahmad Ejazi
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Nahid Ali
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata 700032, India
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13
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Perea-Martínez A, García-Hernández R, Manzano JI, Gamarro F. Transcriptomic Analysis in Human Macrophages Infected with Therapeutic Failure Clinical Isolates of Leishmania infantum. ACS Infect Dis 2022; 8:800-810. [PMID: 35352952 PMCID: PMC9003231 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is one of the neglected tropical diseases with a worldwide distribution, affecting humans and animals. In the absence of an effective vaccine, current treatment is through the use of chemotherapy; however, existing treatments have frequent appearance of drug resistance and therapeutic failure (TF). The identification of factors that contribute to TF in leishmaniasis will provide the basis for a future therapeutic strategy more efficient for the control of this disease. In this article, we have evaluated the transcriptomic changes in the host cells THP-1 after infection with clinical Leishmania infantum isolates from leishmaniasis patients with TF. Our results show that distinct L. infantum isolates differentially modulate host cell response, inducing phenotypic changes that probably may account for parasite survival and TF of patients. Analysis of differential expression genes (DEGs), with a statistical significance threshold of a fold change ≥ 2 and a false discovery rate value ≤ 0.05, revealed a different number of DEGs according to the Leishmanialine. Globally, there was a similar number of genes up- and downregulated in all the infected host THP-1 cells, with exception of Hi-L2221, which showed a higher number of downregulated DEGs. We observed a total of 58 DEGs commonly modulated in all infected host cells, including upregulated (log2FC ≥ 1) and downregulated (log2FC ≤ -1) genes. Based on the results obtained from the analysis of RNA-seq, volcano plot, and GO enrichment analysis, we identified the most significant transcripts of relevance for their possible contribution to the TF observed in patients with leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Perea-Martínez
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina “López-Neyra”, IPBLN-CSIC, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Avda del Conocimiento 17, 18016 Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - Raquel García-Hernández
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina “López-Neyra”, IPBLN-CSIC, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Avda del Conocimiento 17, 18016 Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - José Ignacio Manzano
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina “López-Neyra”, IPBLN-CSIC, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Avda del Conocimiento 17, 18016 Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - Francisco Gamarro
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina “López-Neyra”, IPBLN-CSIC, Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud, Avda del Conocimiento 17, 18016 Armilla, Granada, Spain
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14
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Ozturk EA, Caner A. Liquid Biopsy for Promising Non-invasive Diagnostic Biomarkers in Parasitic Infections. Acta Parasitol 2022; 67:1-17. [PMID: 34176040 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-021-00444-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liquid biopsy refers to the sampling and molecular analysis of body fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine in contrast to conventional tissue biopsies. Liquid biopsy approach can offer powerful non-invasive biomarkers (circulating markers) for diagnosis and monitoring treatment response of a variety of diseases, including parasitic infections. METHODS In this review, we concentrate on cell-free DNA (cfDNA), microRNA (miRNA), and exosomes in the published literature. RESULTS Considering the high prevalence and severity of parasitic infections worldwide, circulating biomarkers can provide a new insight into the diagnosis and prognosis of parasites in the near future. Moreover, identifying and characterizing parasite- or host-derived circulating markers are important for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of parasite infection and host-parasite relationship at the molecular level. Profiling of biomarkers for parasitic diseases is a promising potential field, though further studies and optimization strategies are required, both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION In this review, we discuss three approaches in the liquid biopsy including circulating cfDNA, miRNAs, and exosomes for diagnosis and evaluation of parasites and summarize circulating biomarkers in non-invasive samples during parasitic infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eylem Akdur Ozturk
- Department of Parasitology, Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey
| | - Ayse Caner
- Department of Parasitology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, 35100, Izmir, Turkey.
- Cancer Research Center, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey.
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15
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García-Hernández R, Manzano JI, Perea-Martínez A, Gamarro F. New Insights on Drug-Resistant Clinical Isolates of Leishmania infantum-Infected Human Macrophages as Determined by Comparative Transcriptome Analyses. OMICS : A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2022; 26:165-177. [PMID: 35172107 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2021.0185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is the second most important neglected tropical parasitic disease after malaria. This disease is distributed worldwide and can be present in a variety of clinical forms, depending on the parasite species and host's genetic background. As chemotherapy is the only effective weapon whose effectiveness is limited by the frequent appearance of drug resistance and therapeutic failure, new therapeutic strategies are required. To better understand the factors that contribute to therapeutic failure and drug resistance in leishmaniasis, we studied the transcriptomic changes in host THP-1 cells after infection with clinical Leishmania infantum isolates with different susceptibilities to antileishmanial drugs by RNA-seq. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in infected host cells revealed variations in DEG numbers in the THP-1-infected cells depending on the Leishmania line. A key conclusion of this study is that the modulation of host cells is Leishmania line dependent. Gene ontology enrichment analyses of DEGs indicated that certain biological processes were modulated in the infected host cells, specifically related to cellular metabolism, immune response, defense response, signaling pathways, and cell proliferation and apoptosis. Furthermore, this study provides new potential therapeutic markers and insights into the THP-1 host transcriptomic changes that occur after late infection with drug-resistant L. infantum clinical isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - José Ignacio Manzano
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra" (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain
| | - Ana Perea-Martínez
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra" (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain
| | - Francisco Gamarro
- Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra" (IPBLN-CSIC), Granada, Spain
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16
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Ramos-Sanchez EM, Reis LC, Souza MDA, Muxel SM, Santos KR, Lagos D, Pereira VRA, de Brito MEF, Kaye PM, Floeter-Winter LM, Goto H. miR-548d-3p Is Up-Regulated in Human Visceral Leishmaniasis and Suppresses Parasite Growth in Macrophages. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:826039. [PMID: 35265535 PMCID: PMC8900537 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.826039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum in Latin America progress with hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia, hypergammaglobulinemia, and weight loss and maybe lethal mainly in untreated cases. miRNAs are important regulators of immune and inflammatory gene expression, but their mechanisms of action and their relationship to pathogenesis in leishmaniasis are not well understood. In the present study, we sought to quantify changes in miRNAs associated with immune and inflammatory pathways using the L. (L.) infantum promastigote infected- human monocytic THP-1 cell model and plasma from patients with visceral leishmaniasis. We identified differentially expressed miRNAs in infected THP-1 cells compared with non-infected cells using qPCR arrays. These miRNAs were submitted to in silico analysis, revealing targets within functional pathways associated with TGF-β, chemokines, glucose metabolism, inflammation, apoptosis, and cell signaling. In parallel, we identified differentially expressed miRNAs in active visceral leishmaniasis patient plasma compared with endemic healthy controls. In silico analysis of these data indicated different predicted targets within the TGF-β, TLR4, IGF-I, chemokine, and HIF1α pathways. Only a small number of miRNAs were commonly identified in these two datasets, notably with miR-548d-3p being up-regulated in both conditions. To evaluate the potential biological role of miR-548d-3p, we transiently transfected a miR-548d-3p inhibitor into L. (L.) infantum infected-THP-1 cells, finding that inhibition of miR-548d-3p enhanced parasite growth, likely mediated through reduced levels of MCP-1/CCL2 and nitric oxide production. Further work will be required to determine how miR-548d-3p plays a role in vivo and whether it serves as a potential biomarker of progressive leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Milton Ramos-Sanchez
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Salud Publica, Facultad de Ciencias de La Salud, Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodriguez de Mendoza de Amazonas, Chachapoyas, Peru
- Graduate Program in Animal Science, Agrarian Sciences Center (CCA), Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB), Areia, Brazil
| | - Luiza Campos Reis
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marina de Assis Souza
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sandra Márcia Muxel
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Kamila Reis Santos
- Veterinary Clinical Immunology Research Group, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Dimitris Lagos
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Paul Martin Kaye
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | | | - Hiro Goto
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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17
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miR-294 and miR-410 Negatively Regulate Tnfa, Arginine Transporter Cat1/2, and Nos2 mRNAs in Murine Macrophages Infected with Leishmania amazonensis. Noncoding RNA 2022; 8:ncrna8010017. [PMID: 35202090 PMCID: PMC8875753 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna8010017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that regulate cellular processes by the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, including immune responses. The shift in the miRNA profiling of murine macrophages infected with Leishmania amazonensis can change inflammatory response and metabolism. L-arginine availability and its conversion into nitric oxide by nitric oxide synthase 2 (Nos2) or ornithine (a polyamine precursor) by arginase 1/2 regulate macrophage microbicidal activity. This work aimed to evaluate the function of miR-294, miR-301b, and miR-410 during early C57BL/6 bone marrow-derived macrophage infection with L. amazonensis. We observed an upregulation of miR-294 and miR-410 at 4 h of infection, but the levels of miR-301b were not modified. This profile was not observed in LPS-stimulated macrophages. We also observed decreased levels of those miRNAs target genes during infection, such as Cationic amino acid transporters 1 (Cat1/Slc7a1), Cat2/Slc7a22 and Nos2; genes were upregulated in LPS stimuli. The functional inhibition of miR-294 led to the upregulation of Cat2 and Tnfa and the dysregulation of Nos2, while miR-410 increased Cat1 levels. miR-294 inhibition reduced the number of amastigotes per infected macrophage, showing a reduction in the parasite growth inside the macrophage. These data identified miR-294 and miR-410 biomarkers for a potential regulator in the inflammatory profiles of microphages mediated by L. amazonensis infection. This research provides novel insights into immune dysfunction contributing to infection outcomes and suggests the use of the antagomiRs/inhibitors of miR-294 and miR-410 as new therapeutic strategies to modulate inflammation and to decrease parasitism.
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18
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Farani PSG, Ferreira BIS, Gibaldi D, Lannes-Vieira J, Moreira OC. Modulation of miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p levels is linked to reduced parasite load in H9C2 Trypanosoma cruzi infected cardiomyoblasts. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1436. [PMID: 35082354 PMCID: PMC8791985 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05493-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In the heart tissue of acutely Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p are, respectively, downregulated and upregulated. Here, we used the H9C2 rat cardiomyoblast cell line infected with the Colombian T. cruzi strain to investigate the parasite-host cell interplay, focusing on the regulation of miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p expression. Next, we explored the effects of interventions with the trypanosomicidal drug Benznidazole (Bz) alone or combined with Pentoxifylline (PTX), a methylxanthine derivative shown to modulate immunological and cardiac abnormalities in a model of chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy, on parasite load and expression of miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p. The infection of H9C2 cells with trypomastigote forms allowed parasite cycle with intracellular forms multiplication and trypomastigote release. After 48 and 144 h of infection, upregulation of miR-145-5p (24 h: 2.38 ± 0.26; 48 h: 3.15 ± 0.9-fold change) and miR-146b-5b (24 h: 2.60 ± 0.46; 48 h: 2.97 ± 0.23-fold change) was detected. The peak of both miRNA levels paralleled with release of trypomastigote forms. Addition of 3 µM and 10 µM of Bz 48 h after infection reduced parasite load but did not interfere with miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p levels. Addition of PTX did not interfere with Bz-induced parasite control efficacy. Conversely, combined Bz + PTX treatment decreased the levels of both microRNAs, resembling the expression levels detected in non-infected H9C2 cells. Moreover, the use of miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p mimic/inhibitor systems before infection of H9C2 cells decreased parasite load, 72 h postinfection. When H9C2 cells were treated with miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p mimic/inhibitor 48 h after infection, all the used systems, except the miR-146b-5p inhibitor, reduced parasite load. Altogether, our data indicate that these microRNAs putatively control signaling pathways crucial for parasite–host cell interaction. Thus, miR-145-5p and miR-146b-5p deserve to be further investigated as biomarkers of parasite control and tools to identify therapeutic adjuvants to etiological treatment in Chagas disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila Silva Grijó Farani
- Real Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Endemic Diseases, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Laboratory of Biology of the Interactions, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Iandra Silva Ferreira
- Real Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Endemic Diseases, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Daniel Gibaldi
- Laboratory of Biology of the Interactions, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Joseli Lannes-Vieira
- Laboratory of Biology of the Interactions, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Otacilio Cruz Moreira
- Real Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Endemic Diseases, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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19
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Tamgue O, Mezajou CF, Ngongang NN, Kameni C, Ngum JA, Simo USF, Tatang FJ, Akami M, Ngono AN. Non-Coding RNAs in the Etiology and Control of Major and Neglected Human Tropical Diseases. Front Immunol 2021; 12:703936. [PMID: 34737736 PMCID: PMC8560798 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.703936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) including microRNAs (miRs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as key regulators of gene expression in immune cells development and function. Their expression is altered in different physiological and disease conditions, hence making them attractive targets for the understanding of disease etiology and the development of adjunctive control strategies, especially within the current context of mitigated success of control measures deployed to eradicate these diseases. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the role of ncRNAs in the etiology and control of major human tropical diseases including tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria, as well as neglected tropical diseases including leishmaniasis, African trypanosomiasis and leprosy. We highlight that several ncRNAs are involved at different stages of development of these diseases, for example miR-26-5p, miR-132-3p, miR-155-5p, miR-29-3p, miR-21-5p, miR-27b-3p, miR-99b-5p, miR-125-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-223-3p, miR-20b-5p, miR-142-3p, miR-27a-5p, miR-144-5p, miR-889-5p and miR-582-5p in tuberculosis; miR-873, MALAT1, HEAL, LINC01426, LINC00173, NEAT1, NRON, GAS5 and lincRNA-p21 in HIV/AIDS; miR-451a, miR-let-7b and miR-106b in malaria; miR-210, miR-30A-5P, miR-294, miR-721 and lncRNA 7SL RNA in leishmaniasis; and miR-21, miR-181a, miR-146a in leprosy. We further report that several ncRNAs were investigated as diseases biomarkers and a number of them showed good potential for disease diagnosis, including miR-769-5p, miR-320a, miR-22-3p, miR-423-5p, miR-17-5p, miR-20b-5p and lncRNA LOC152742 in tuberculosis; miR-146b-5p, miR-223, miR-150, miR-16, miR-191 and lncRNA NEAT1 in HIV/AIDS; miR-451 and miR-16 in malaria; miR-361-3p, miR-193b, miR-671, lncRNA 7SL in leishmaniasis; miR-101, miR-196b, miR-27b and miR-29c in leprosy. Furthermore, some ncRNAs have emerged as potential therapeutic targets, some of which include lncRNAs NEAT1, NEAT2 and lnr6RNA, 152742 in tuberculosis; MALAT1, HEAL, SAF, lincRNA-p21, NEAT1, GAS5, NRON, LINC00173 in HIV/AIDS; miRNA-146a in malaria. Finally, miR-135 and miR-126 were proposed as potential targets for the development of therapeutic vaccine against leishmaniasis. We also identify and discuss knowledge gaps that warrant for increased research work. These include investigation of the role of ncRNAs in the etiology of African trypanosomiasis and the assessment of the diagnostic potential of ncRNAs for malaria, and African trypanosomiasis. The potential targeting of ncRNAs for adjunctive therapy against tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, African trypanosomiasis and leprosy, as well as their targeting in vaccine development against tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria, African trypanosomiasis and leprosy are also new avenues to explore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ousman Tamgue
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
| | | | | | - Charleine Kameni
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
| | - Jubilate Afuoti Ngum
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
| | | | - Fabrice Junior Tatang
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
| | - Mazarin Akami
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
| | - Annie Ngane Ngono
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, Douala, Cameroon
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20
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Lecoeur H, Prina E, Gutiérrez-Sanchez M, Späth GF. Going ballistic: Leishmania nuclear subversion of host cell plasticity. Trends Parasitol 2021; 38:205-216. [PMID: 34666937 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Intracellular parasites have evolved intricate strategies to subvert host cell functions for their own survival. These strategies are particularly damaging to the host if the infection involves immune cells, as illustrated by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania that thrive inside mononuclear phagocytic cells, causing devastating immunopathologies. While the impact of Leishmania infection on host cell phenotype and functions has been well documented, the regulatory mechanisms underlying host cell subversion were only recently investigated. Here we summarize the current knowledge on how Leishmania infection affects host nuclear activities and propose thought-provoking new concepts on the reciprocal relationship between epigenetic and transcriptional regulation in host cell phenotypic plasticity, its potential subversion by the intracellular parasite, and its relevance for host-directed therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hervé Lecoeur
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie Moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France
| | - Eric Prina
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie Moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France
| | - Maria Gutiérrez-Sanchez
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie Moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France; UMR 8076 CNRS BioCIS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Châtenay-Malabry, France
| | - Gerald F Späth
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris, INSERM U1201, Unité de Parasitologie Moléculaire et Signalisation, Paris, France.
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21
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Rashidi S, Mansouri R, Ali-Hassanzadeh M, Ghani E, Barazesh A, Karimazar M, Nguewa P, Carrera Silva EA. Highlighting the interplay of microRNAs from Leishmania parasites and infected-host cells. Parasitology 2021; 148:1434-1446. [PMID: 34218829 PMCID: PMC11010138 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182021001177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Leishmania parasites, the causative agents of leishmaniasis, are protozoan parasites with the ability to modify the signalling pathway and cell responses of their infected host cells. These parasite strategies alter the host cell environment and conditions favouring their replication, survival and pathogenesis. Since microRNAs (miRNAs) are able to post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression processes, these biomolecules can exert critical roles in controlling Leishmania-host cell interplay. Therefore, the identification of relevant miRNAs differentially expressed in Leishmania parasites as well as in infected cells, which affect the host fitness, could be critical to understand the infection biology, pathogenicity and immune response against these parasites. Accordingly, the current review aims to address the differentially expressed miRNAs in both, the parasite and infected host cells and how these biomolecules change cell signalling and host immune responses during infection. A deep understanding of these processes could provide novel guidelines and therapeutic strategies for managing and treating leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajad Rashidi
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Reza Mansouri
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Yazd, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ali-Hassanzadeh
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, Iran
| | - Esmaeel Ghani
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
| | - Afshin Barazesh
- Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
| | - Mohammadreza Karimazar
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Paul Nguewa
- University of Navarra, ISTUN Instituto de Salud Tropical, Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, IdiSNA (Navarra Institute for Health Research), c/Irunlarrea 1, 31008Pamplona, Spain
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22
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Souza MDA, Ramos-Sanchez EM, Muxel SM, Lagos D, Reis LC, Pereira VRA, Brito MEF, Zampieri RA, Kaye PM, Floeter-Winter LM, Goto H. miR-548d-3p Alters Parasite Growth and Inflammation in Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Infection. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:687647. [PMID: 34178725 PMCID: PMC8224172 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.687647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL) is an endemic disease in Latin America, mainly caused in Brazil by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis. Clinical manifestations vary from mild, localized cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) to aggressive mucosal disease. The host immune response strongly determines the outcome of infection and pattern of disease. However, the pathogenesis of ATL is not well understood, and host microRNAs (miRNAs) may have a role in this context. In the present study, miRNAs were quantified using qPCR arrays in human monocytic THP-1 cells infected in vitro with L. (V.) braziliensis promastigotes and in plasma from patients with ATL, focusing on inflammatory response-specific miRNAs. Patients with active or self-healed cutaneous leishmaniasis patients, with confirmed parasitological or immunological diagnosis, were compared with healthy controls. Computational target prediction of significantly-altered miRNAs from in vitro L. (V.) braziliensis-infected THP-1 cells revealed predicted targets involved in diverse pathways, including chemokine signaling, inflammatory, cellular proliferation, and tissue repair processes. In plasma, we observed distinct miRNA expression in patients with self-healed and active lesions compared with healthy controls. Some miRNAs dysregulated during THP-1 in vitro infection were also found in plasma from self-healed patients, including miR-548d-3p, which was upregulated in infected THP-1 cells and in plasma from self-healed patients. As miR-548d-3p was predicted to target the chemokine pathway and inflammation is a central to the pathogenesis of ATL, we evaluated the effect of transient transfection of a miR-548d-3p inhibitor on L. (V.) braziliensis infected-THP-1 cells. Inhibition of miR-548d-3p reduced parasite growth early after infection and increased production of MCP1/CCL2, RANTES/CCL5, and IP10/CXCL10. In plasma of self-healed patients, MCP1/CCL2, RANTES/CCL5, and IL-8/CXCL8 concentrations were significantly decreased and MIG/CXCL9 and IP-10/CXCL10 increased compared to patients with active disease. These data suggest that by modulating miRNAs, L. (V.) braziliensis may interfere with chemokine production and hence the inflammatory processes underpinning lesion resolution. Our data suggest miR-548d-3p could be further evaluated as a prognostic marker for ATL and/or as a host-directed therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina de Assis Souza
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Milton Ramos-Sanchez
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil.,Departamento de Salud Publica, Facultad de Ciencias de La Salud, Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodriguez de Mendoza de Amazonas, Chachapoyas, Peru
| | | | - Dimitris Lagos
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Luiza Campos Reis
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Paul Martin Kaye
- York Biomedical Research Institute, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | | | - Hiro Goto
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo (IMTSP/USP), São Paulo, Brazil.,Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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23
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Pacheco-Fernandez T, Volpedo G, Gannavaram S, Bhattacharya P, Dey R, Satoskar A, Matlashewski G, Nakhasi HL. Revival of Leishmanization and Leishmanin. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021; 11:639801. [PMID: 33816344 PMCID: PMC8010169 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.639801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis includes a spectrum of diseases ranging from debilitating cutaneous to fatal visceral infections. This disease is caused by the parasitic protozoa of the genus Leishmania that is transmitted by infected sandflies. Over 1 billion people are at risk of leishmaniasis with an annual incidence of over 2 million cases throughout tropical and subtropical regions in close to 100 countries. Leishmaniasis is the only human parasitic disease where vaccination has been successful through a procedure known as leishmanization that has been widely used for decades in the Middle East. Leishmanization involved intradermal inoculation of live Leishmania major parasites resulting in a skin lesion that following natural healing provided protective immunity to re-infection. Leishmanization is however no longer practiced due to safety and ethical concerns that the lesions at the site of inoculation that can last for months in some people. New genome editing technologies involving CRISPR has now made it possible to engineer safer attenuated strains of Leishmania, which induce protective immunity making way for a second generation leishmanization that can enter into human trials. A major consideration will be how the test the efficacy of a vaccine in the midst of the visceral leishmaniasis elimination program. One solution will be to use the leishmanin skin test (LST) that was also used for decades to determine exposure and immunity to Leishmania. The LST involves injection of antigen from Leishmania in the skin dermis resulting in a delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) immune reaction associated with a Th1 immune response and protection against visceral leishmaniasis. Reintroduction of novel approaches for leishmanization and the leishmanin skin test can play a major role in eliminating leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thalia Pacheco-Fernandez
- Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Greta Volpedo
- Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Sreenivas Gannavaram
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Parna Bhattacharya
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Ranadhir Dey
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Abhay Satoskar
- Departments of Pathology and Microbiology, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Greg Matlashewski
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Hira L Nakhasi
- Division of Emerging and Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Silver Spring, MD, United States
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24
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Das S, Mukherjee S, Ali N. Super enhancer-mediated transcription of miR146a-5p drives M2 polarization during Leishmania donovani infection. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009343. [PMID: 33630975 PMCID: PMC7943006 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The outcome of Leishmania donovani infection depends upon the dynamic interchanges between M1 and M2 macrophages. Information of the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) and epigenetic modifiers in regulating macrophage plasticity during L. donovani infection is still elusive. Differential expression analysis of polarization-regulating miRNAs, revealed significant enrichment of miR146a-5p during Leishmania donovani infection. A sustained enrichment of miR146a-5p was observed in both infected bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs) and BALB/c mice organs. We found involvement of miR146a-5p in phagocytosis and survivability of parasites. Moreover, miR146a-5pgot enriched in interleukin 4- stimulated BMDMs, indicating its possible involvement in M2 polarization. Upon transfecting BMDMs with miRVANA anti-146a oligos, M2 markers (CCR7, YM-1, FIZZ-1, arginase-1, IL10 and IL4) and transcription factors (p-STAT6 and c/EBPβ) got depleted with concomitant augmentation of M1-polarizing transcription factors (p-STAT1, AP1 and IRF-1), miR146a target genes (TRAF6 and IRAK1), M1 cytokines (IL12 and TNFα), iNOS, nitric oxide, and nuclear translocation of phospho p-65 subunit. Neutralization of intracellular mature miR146a-5p pool in infected BALB/c mice lower organ parasite burden and expressions of M2 markers and IL10 with enrichment of M1 markers like iNOS and IL12. Additionally, we explored the novel role of super enhancer (SE), a cis-acting regulatory component, to enrich miR146a-5p expression during infection. Enhanced expression and nuclear retention of SE components like BET bromodomain 4 (BRD4) and p300 were found in infected BMDMs. Upon silencing BRD4, expressions of miR146a-5p and M2 markers were down regulated and TRAF6, IRAK1 and iNOS levels increased. STRING V.11 based predication and immune precipitation confirmed the strong interaction amongst BRD4, p300 and RNA pol II (RpbI). Chromatin immune precipitation studies suggested the recruitment of BRD4 at the enhancer loci of miR146a-5p gene during infection. Altogether, our findings revealed a novel role of BRD4/p300-depdendent super-enhancer in regulating miR146a expression during L. donovani infection which in turn mediates M2 polarization and immune-suppression. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by protozoan parasites Leishmania donovani, is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and is highly lethal if left untreated. Major obstacle for successful therapy of VL originates from the life-long immune-suppression triggered in the post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients during infection. Identification of molecular principles behind such immune-suppression will add success in VL therapeutics. L. donovani hijacks the host macrophages and converts them from pro-inflammatory M1 to immune-suppressive M2 type, which allows successful infection establishment. Herein, we explored the indispensable role of miRNA-146a-5p in conversion of M1 to M2 type during infection. Both in vitro and in vivo miRNA silencing established miR146a-5p as an imperative negative regulator ofM1 polarization. Computational analysis as well as immune precipitation based experiments authenticated that L. donovani induces super enhancer complex mediated transcriptional upregulation of miR146a-5p. BET bromodomain protein 4 (BRD4) forms this SE complex along with p300 histone acetyl transferase and RNA pol II. Silencing of BRD4 significantly abrogated miR146a-5p mediated M2 polarization. In short, our current findings established a previously unrecognized role of BRD4-depdendent super enhancers in orchestrating persistent transcription of macrophage miR146a-5p which in turn promotes M2 polarization during L. donovani infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonali Das
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Sohitri Mukherjee
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Nahid Ali
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
- * E-mail:
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25
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Feiz Haddad MH, Rezvan H, Nourian A, Habibpour H. Expression of MicroRNA of Macrophages Infected with Attenuated Leishmania major Parasite. J PEDIAT INF DIS-GER 2021. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1724021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Objective Leishmaniasis has been proposed as one of the neglected vector-borne diseases due to an obligate intracellular parasite of the genus Leishmania. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) with a length of 22-nucleotide are known as the noncoding small RNAs. MiRNAs contribute to many biological and cellular approaches. Therefore, the present study evaluated expressing mmu-miR-721, mmu-miR-294–3p, mmu-miR-155–3p, and mmu-miR-30a in murine macrophages infected with attenuated Leishmania major parasites on 3 days after infection.
Methods Attenuated promastigotes have been achieved after 20 passages of Leishmania major parasites. Cell line J774A.1 (murine macrophage) has been used for in vitro experiments. The stationary phase of attenuated L. major promastigotes has been chosen to infect the cells, and then their incubation has been performed with 5% CO2 at 37°C for 3 days. The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has also been performed with SYBR Green master-mix Kit for measuring the level of mmu-miR-721, mmu-miR-294–3p, mmu-miR-30a, and mmu-miR-155-3p expression. Uninfected macrophages have been considered as a control group.
Results Real-time PCR demonstrated overexpression of mmu-miR-155-3p, mmu-miR-294–3p, and, mmu-miR-721 in the infected cells with Leishmania parasites after 3 days. Results showed no statistically significant difference in the mmu-miR-30a expression between infected macrophages and the uninfected control group.
Conclusion Our findings suggested the significant contribution of the alterations in the miRNA levels to the regulation of macrophage functions following the creation of intracellular parasites like Leishmania. These data could help to understand better the genes' expression in the host cells in the course of leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Hossein Feiz Haddad
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Hossein Rezvan
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
| | - Alireza Nourian
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
| | - Habib Habibpour
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
- Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
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26
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Regulation of macrophage subsets and cytokine production in leishmaniasis. Cytokine 2020; 147:155309. [PMID: 33334669 DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2020.155309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Macrophages are host cells for parasites of the genus Leishmania where they multiply inside parasitophorous vacuoles. Paradoxically, macrophages are also the cells responsible for killing or controlling parasite growth, if appropriately activated. In this review, we will cover the patterns of macrophage activation and the mechanisms used by the parasite to circumvent being killed. We will highlight the impacts of the vector bite on macrophage activation. Finally, we will discuss the ontogeny of macrophages that are infected by Leishmania spp.
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27
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Paul S, Ruiz-Manriquez LM, Serrano-Cano FI, Estrada-Meza C, Solorio-Diaz KA, Srivastava A. Human microRNAs in host-parasite interaction: a review. 3 Biotech 2020; 10:510. [PMID: 33178551 PMCID: PMC7644590 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-020-02498-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small noncoding RNA molecules with significant capacity to regulate the gene expression at the post-transcriptional level in a sequence-specific manner either through translation repression or mRNA degradation triggering a fine-tuning biological impact. They have been implicated in several processes, including cell growth and development, signal transduction, cell proliferation and differentiation, metabolism, apoptosis, inflammation, and immune response modulation. However, over the last few years, extensive studies have shown the relevance of miRNAs in human pathophysiology. Common human parasitic diseases, such as Malaria, Leishmaniasis, Amoebiasis, Chagas disease, Schistosomiasis, Toxoplasmosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Clonorchiasis, and Echinococcosis are the leading cause of death worldwide. Thus, identifying and characterizing parasite-specific miRNAs and their host targets, as well as host-related miRNAs, are important for a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of parasite-specific diseases at the molecular level. In this review, we have demonstrated the impact of human microRNAs during host-parasite interaction as well as their potential to be used for diagnosis and prognosis purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujay Paul
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Queretaro, Av. Epigmenio Gonzalez, No. 500 Fracc. San Pablo, 76130 Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Luis M. Ruiz-Manriquez
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Queretaro, Av. Epigmenio Gonzalez, No. 500 Fracc. San Pablo, 76130 Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Francisco I. Serrano-Cano
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Queretaro, Av. Epigmenio Gonzalez, No. 500 Fracc. San Pablo, 76130 Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Carolina Estrada-Meza
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Queretaro, Av. Epigmenio Gonzalez, No. 500 Fracc. San Pablo, 76130 Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Karla A. Solorio-Diaz
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Campus Queretaro, Av. Epigmenio Gonzalez, No. 500 Fracc. San Pablo, 76130 Querétaro, Mexico
| | - Aashish Srivastava
- Section of Bioinformatics, Clinical Laboratory, Haukeland University Hospital, 5021 Bergen, Norway
- Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, 5021 Bergen, Norway
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28
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Soares MF, Melo LM, Bragato JP, Furlan ADO, Scaramele NF, Lopes FL, Lima VMFD. Differential expression of miRNAs in canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) exposed to Leishmania infantum in vitro. Res Vet Sci 2020; 134:58-63. [PMID: 33302213 DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2020.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease, caused by L. infantum in the New World, where dogs are the main reservoir. These parasites can regulate host immune response through miRNA differential expression in the early stages of infection; however such early response has not yet been investigated in the canine model. PBMC from healthy dogs were exposed to L. infantum in vitro and microarray analysis showed an upregulation of miR-206, miR-302d, miR-433, miR-214, miR-493, miR-514, miR-1835, miR-210, miR-539, miR-432, miR-188, miR-345 and downregulation of miR-489 and miR-503 in comparison to non-exposed control cells, at 24 h post-exposure. In silico target prediction showed that the upregulated miRNAs target 1541 genes, which can modulate important pathways involved in the early immune responses, like the "MAPK signaling pathway", one of the most relevant pathways to Leishmania survival inside host cells. These findings shed light on parasite modulation of host immunity following Leishmania infection, which in turn can be explored for drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Fujimura Soares
- Department of Surgery and Animal Reproduction, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Veterinary Medicine, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Larissa Martins Melo
- Department of Surgery and Animal Reproduction, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Veterinary Medicine, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jaqueline Poleto Bragato
- Department of Surgery and Animal Reproduction, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Veterinary Medicine, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Amanda de Oliveira Furlan
- Department of Support, Production and Animal Health, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Veterinary Medicine, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Natália Francisco Scaramele
- Department of Support, Production and Animal Health, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Veterinary Medicine, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Flávia Lombardi Lopes
- Department of Support, Production and Animal Health, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Veterinary Medicine, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Valéria Marçal Felix de Lima
- Department of Surgery and Animal Reproduction, São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of Veterinary Medicine, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil.
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29
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Nandan D, Rath CT, Reiner NE. Leishmania regulates host macrophage miRNAs expression by engaging transcription factor c-Myc. J Leukoc Biol 2020; 109:999-1007. [PMID: 33211335 DOI: 10.1002/jlb.4ru0920-614r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasites of Leishmania genus have developed sophisticated strategies allowing them to deactivate their host macrophage to promote their survival. It has become clear that miRNAs play important roles in shaping innate and adaptive immune responses toward pathogens. It is not surprising that several pathogens including Leishmania have evolved the ability to regulate host macrophage miRNA expression in order to manipulate host cell phenotypes to their advantage. However, very little is known about the mechanisms used by intracellular pathogens to drive changes in host cell miRNA abundance. In this review, Leishmania exploitation of macrophage transcription factor c-Myc as a critical proxy virulence factor to regulate abundance of macrophage miRNAs influencing macrophage physiology to promote its survival will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devki Nandan
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Carolina Torturella Rath
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Neil E Reiner
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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30
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Lasjerdi Z, Ghanbarian H, Mohammadi Yeganeh S, Seyyed Tabaei SJ, Mohebali M, Taghipour N, Koochaki A, Hamidi F, Gholamrezaei M, Haghighi A. Comparative Expression Profile Analysis of Apoptosis-Related miRNA and Its Target Gene in Leishmania major Infected Macrophages. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY 2020; 15:332-340. [PMID: 33082797 PMCID: PMC7548466 DOI: 10.18502/ijpa.v15i3.4197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Background: Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is an emerging uncontrollable and neglected infectious disease worldwide including Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profile of apoptosis-related miRNA and its target gene in macrophages. Methods: This study was carried out in the Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran from January 2016 to November 2018. Applying literature reviews, bioinformatics software, and microarray expression analysis, we selected miRNA-24-3p interfering in apoptosis pathway. The expression profile of this miRNA and target gene were investigated in Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER)-infected primary and RAW 264.7 macrophages (IBRC-C10072) compared with non-infected macrophages (control group) using quantitative Real-time PCR. Results: Results of bioinformatics analysis showed that miR-24-3p as anti-apoptotic miRNA inhibits pro-apoptotic genes (Caspases 3 and 7). Microarray expression data presented in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) revealed a significant difference in the expression level of selected miRNA and its target gene between two groups. QRT-PCR results showed that the expression of miR-24-3p was upregulated in L. major infectioned macrophages that approved the results of bioinformatics and microarray analysis. Conclusion: Parasite can alter miRNAs expression pattern in the host cells to establish infection and its survival. Alteration in miRNAs levels likely plays an important role in regulating macrophage functions following L. major infection. These results could highlight current understanding and new insights concerning the gene expression in macrophages during leishmaniasis and will help to development of novel strategies for control and treatment of CL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohreh Lasjerdi
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Student Research Committee, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hossein Ghanbarian
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Samira Mohammadi Yeganeh
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyyed Javad Seyyed Tabaei
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mehdi Mohebali
- Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran
| | - Niloofar Taghipour
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ameneh Koochaki
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Faezeh Hamidi
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mostafa Gholamrezaei
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Haghighi
- Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Masoudzadeh N, Mizbani A, Rafati S. Transcriptomic profiling in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis patients. Expert Rev Proteomics 2020; 17:533-541. [PMID: 32886890 DOI: 10.1080/14789450.2020.1812390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), caused by different Leishmania parasite species, is associated with parasite-induced immune-mediated skin inflammation and ulceration. Whereas many CL studies focus on gene expression signatures in mouse models, the transcriptional response driving human patients in the field is less characterized. Human studies in CL disease provide the opportunity to directly investigate the host-pathogen interaction in the cutaneous lesion site. AREAS COVERED Advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies, particularly their application for evaluation of the global gene expression changes, have made transcriptomics as a powerful tool to understand the pathogen-host molecular interactions. EXPERT COMMENTARY In this review, we focus on the transcriptomics studies that have been performed so far on human blood or tissue-driven samples to investigate Leishmania parasites interplay with the CL patients. Further, we summarize microarray and RNA-seq studies associated with lesion biopsies of CL patients to discuss how current whole genome analysis along with systems biology approaches have developed novel CL biomarkers for further applications, not only for research, but also for accelerating vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasrin Masoudzadeh
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran
| | - Amir Mizbani
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich , Switzerland
| | - Sima Rafati
- Department of Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran , Tehran, Iran
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32
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Barbosa Júnior WL, Justo AM, Aguiar Dos Santos AM, de Lorena VMB, do Carmo RF, de Melo FL, de Medeiros ZM, Vasconcelos LRS. Higher levels of TNF and IL-4 cytokines and low miR-182 expression in visceral leishmaniasis-HIV co-infected patients. Parasite Immunol 2020; 42:e12701. [PMID: 31990371 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
AIMS The aim of the present study was to assess serum cytokine and miRNA expression in visceral leishmaniasis-HIV (VL-HIV) co-infection and HIV mono-infection. METHODS AND RESULTS We analysed 113 serum samples from HIV patients in areas endemic for leishmaniasis. The diagnosis of VL was confirmed in 65 of these 113 samples. The VL-HIV and HIV groups presented significant differences regarding haemoglobin level (P < .0001), lymphocyte count (P = .0444), white blood cell count (P = .0108), weight loss (P = .0310), HIV load (P < .0001) and CD4+ T-lymphocytes count (P = .0003). Levels of IL-6 and IL-10, IFN-γ and IL-6, IFN-γ and IL-10, TNF and IL-2 were positively correlated in VL-HIV co-infection, indicating higher serum levels of TNF and IL-4 (P < .0001). In addition, miR-182 expression was found to be significantly higher in HIV (P = .009), miR-210 exhibited no statistically significant difference between groups, and nonexpression of miR-122 was found in both groups. CONCLUSION Together, TNF, IL-4 and miR-182 may represent circulatory biomarkers of VL-HIV co-infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alda Maria Justo
- Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Fábio Lopes de Melo
- Department of Parasitology, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brazil
| | - Zulma Maria de Medeiros
- Department of Parasitology, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brazil.,Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Luydson Richardson Silva Vasconcelos
- Department of Parasitology, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brazil.,Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
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Nelson MC, O'Connell RM. MicroRNAs: At the Interface of Metabolic Pathways and Inflammatory Responses by Macrophages. Front Immunol 2020; 11:1797. [PMID: 32922393 PMCID: PMC7456828 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.01797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Macrophages are key cells of the innate immune system with functional roles in both homeostatic maintenance of self-tissues and inflammatory responses to external stimuli, including infectious agents. Recent advances in metabolic research have revealed that macrophage functions rely upon coordinated metabolic programs to regulate gene expression, inflammation, and other important cellular processes. Polarized macrophages adjust their use of nutrients such as glucose and amino acids to meet their changing metabolic needs, and this in turn supports the functions of the activated macrophage. Metabolic and inflammatory processes have been widely studied, and a crucial role for their regulation at the post-transcriptional level by microRNAs (miRNAs) has been identified. miRNAs govern many facets of macrophage biology, including direct targeting of metabolic regulators and inflammatory pathways. This review will integrate emerging data that support an interplay between miRNAs and metabolism during macrophage inflammatory responses, highlighting critical miRNAs and miRNA families. Additionally, we will address the implications of these networks for human disease and discuss emerging areas of research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan C Nelson
- Department of Pathology, Division of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.,Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Ryan M O'Connell
- Department of Pathology, Division of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.,Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
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Kumar A, Vijaykumar S, Dikhit MR, Abhishek K, Mukherjee R, Sen A, Das P, Das S. Differential Regulation of miRNA Profiles of Human Cells Experimentally Infected by Leishmania donovani Isolated From Indian Visceral Leishmaniasis and Post-Kala-Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:1716. [PMID: 32849363 PMCID: PMC7410929 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs are small ribonucleic acid that act as an important regulator of gene expression at the molecular level. However, there is no comparative data on the regulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). In this current study, we compared the expression miRNA profile in host cells (GTHP), with VL strain (GVL) and PKDL strain-infected host cell (GPKDL). Normalized read count comparison between different conditions revealed that the miRNAs are indeed differentially expressed. In GPKDL with respect to GVL and GTHP, a total of 798 and 879 miRNAs were identified, out of which 349 and 518 are known miRNAs, respectively. Comparative analysis of changes in miRNA expression suggested that the involvement of differentially expressed miRNAs in various biological processes like PI3K pathway activation, cell cycle regulation, immunomodulation, apoptosis inhibition, different cytokine production, T-cell phenotypic transitions calcium regulation, and so on. A pathway enrichment study using in silico predicted gene targets of differentially expressed miRNAs showed evidence of potentially universal immune signaling pathway effects. Whereas cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, phagocytosis, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathways were more highly enriched using targets of miRNAs upregulated in GPKDL. These findings could contribute to a better understanding of PKDL pathogenesis. Furthermore, the identified miRNAs could also be used as biomarkers in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics of PKDL infection control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashish Kumar
- Department of Biochemistry, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Saravanan Vijaykumar
- Department of Bioinformatics, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Manas Ranjan Dikhit
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Kumar Abhishek
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Rimi Mukherjee
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Abhik Sen
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Pradeep Das
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Sushmita Das
- Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
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35
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Nimsarkar P, Ingale P, Singh S. Systems Studies Uncover miR-146a as a Target in Leishmania major Infection Model. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:12516-12526. [PMID: 32548436 PMCID: PMC7271362 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c01502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/04/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis, the second most neglected tropical disease, has been reported to affect approximately 12 million people worldwide. The causative protozoan parasite Leishmania has shown drug resistance to available chemotherapies, owing to which we need to look for better approaches to deal with the clinical situations. As per recent reports, several miRNAs have been found to be differentially expressed during Leishmania major infection in host macrophages. We aim to evaluate the impact of miRNA-mediated gene regulation on the key players of inflammation and macrophage dysfunction. The origin of Leishmania miRNAs and their processing is a questionable phenomenon as of yet. Through our study, we aim to provide a framework of their characterization. We amalgamate chemical systems biology and synthetic biology approaches to identify putative miRNA targets and unravel the complexity of host-pathogen gene regulatory networks.
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36
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Kumar V, Das S, Kumar A, Tiwari N, Kumar A, Abhishek K, Mandal A, Kumar M, Shafi T, Bamra T, Singh RK, Vijayakumar S, Sen A, Das P. Leishmania donovani infection induce differential miRNA expression in CD4+ T cells. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3523. [PMID: 32103111 PMCID: PMC7044172 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60435-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis is characterized by mixed production of Th1/2 cytokines and the disease is established by an enhanced level of Th2 cytokine. CD4+ T cells are main cell type which produces Th1/2 cytokine in the host upon Leishmania infection. However, the regulatory mechanism for Th1/2 production is not well understood. In this study, we co-cultured mice CD4+ T cells with Leishmania donovani infected and uninfected macrophage for the identification of dysregulated miRNAs in CD4+ T cells by next-generation sequencing. Here, we identified 604 and 613 known miRNAs in CD4+ T cells in control and infected samples respectively and a total of only 503 miRNAs were common in both groups. The expression analysis revealed that 112 miRNAs were up and 96 were down-regulated in infected groups, compared to uninfected control. Nineteen up-regulated and 17 down-regulated miRNAs were statistically significant (p < 0.05), which were validated by qPCR. Further, using insilco approach, we identified the gene targets of significant miRNAs on the basis of CD4+ T cell biology. Eleven up-regulated miRNAs and 9 down-regulated miRNAs were associated with the cellular immune responses and Th1/2 dichotomy upon Leishmania donovani infection. The up-regulated miRNAs targeted transcription factors that promote differentiation of CD4+ T cells towards Th1 phenotype. While down-regulated miRNAs targeted the transcription factors that facilitate differentiation of CD4+ T cells towards Th2 populations. The GO and pathway enrichment analysis also showed that the identified miRNAs target the pathway and genes related to CD4+ T cell biology which plays important role in Leishmania donovani infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinod Kumar
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Sushmita Das
- Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Phulwarisharif, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Ajay Kumar
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Neeraj Tiwari
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Ashish Kumar
- Department of Biochemistry, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Kumar Abhishek
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Abhishek Mandal
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Manjay Kumar
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Taj Shafi
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Tanvir Bamra
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Rakesh Kumar Singh
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
| | - Saravanan Vijayakumar
- Department of Bioinformatics, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Abhik Sen
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Pradeep Das
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, Bihar, India.
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Mendonça LSO, Santos JM, Kaneto CM, de Carvalho LD, Lima-Santos J, Augusto DG, Carvalho SMS, Soares-Martins JAP, Silva-Jardim I. Characterization of serum cytokines and circulating microRNAs that are predicted to regulate inflammasome genes in cutaneous leishmaniasis patients. Exp Parasitol 2020; 210:107846. [PMID: 32001303 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2020.107846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease caused by an intracellular protozoan parasite of the genus Leishmania. Infection starts when this protozoan replicates in a phagolysosomal compartment in macrophages, after evading host immune responses. The balance of Th1 and Th2 immune responses is crucial in leishmaniasis because it will determine whether the infection will be under control or if clinical complications will occur. The inflammasome, which is activated during Leishmania infection, involves the action of caspase-1 and release of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β and interleukin-18. Together, they contribute to the maintenance of an inflammatory response and pyroptosis. Here, we evaluated the serum levels of cytokines and the expression of circulating microRNAs related to inflammasome regulation in twenty-seven patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis in comparison to nine healthy individuals, in the context of the inflammasome activation. Evaluation of serum cytokines activation (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-17) was performed by flow cytometry using CBA kits (cytometric beads array) while the expression of circulating microRNAs (miR-7, miR-133a, miR-146b, miR-155, miR-223, miR-328, and miR-342) in plasma was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Our results showed an increase of the expression of miR-7-5p (p < 10-5), miR-133a (p = 0.034), miR-146b (p = 0.003), miR-223-3p (p = 10-5), and miR-328-3p (p = 0.002), and cytokine levels for IL-1β (p = 0.0005), IL-6 (p = 0.001), and IL-17 (p = 0.001) in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis compared to the controls. These results suggest that microRNAs and cytokines can play an important role in regulating the human immune responses to Leishmania infection. Our findings may contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of the gene regulation during the cutaneous leishmaniasis and to the identification of possible biomarkers of the infection.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Carla Martins Kaneto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | | | - Jane Lima-Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Danillo G Augusto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilhéus, BA, Brazil; Department of Genetics, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR), Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | | | | | - Izaltina Silva-Jardim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.
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38
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Acuña SM, Floeter-Winter LM, Muxel SM. MicroRNAs: Biological Regulators in Pathogen-Host Interactions. Cells 2020; 9:E113. [PMID: 31906500 PMCID: PMC7016591 DOI: 10.3390/cells9010113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
An inflammatory response is essential for combating invading pathogens. Several effector components, as well as immune cell populations, are involved in mounting an immune response, thereby destroying pathogenic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. In the past decade, microRNAs (miRNAs), a group of noncoding small RNAs, have emerged as functionally significant regulatory molecules with the significant capability of fine-tuning biological processes. The important role of miRNAs in inflammation and immune responses is highlighted by studies in which the regulation of miRNAs in the host was shown to be related to infectious diseases and associated with the eradication or susceptibility of the infection. Here, we review the biological aspects of microRNAs, focusing on their roles as regulators of gene expression during pathogen-host interactions and their implications in the immune response against Leishmania, Trypanosoma, Toxoplasma, and Plasmodium infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sandra Marcia Muxel
- Department of Physiology, Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-090 São Paulo, Brazil; (S.M.A.); (L.M.F.-W.)
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39
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Bensaoud C, Hackenberg M, Kotsyfakis M. Noncoding RNAs in Parasite–Vector–Host Interactions. Trends Parasitol 2019; 35:715-724. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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40
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Li X, Huang S, Yu T, Liang G, Liu H, Pu D, Peng N. MiR-140 modulates the inflammatory responses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected macrophages by targeting TRAF6. J Cell Mol Med 2019; 23:5642-5653. [PMID: 31199066 PMCID: PMC6653720 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.14472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to examine miR‐140 expression in clinical samples from tuberculosis (TB) patients and to explore the molecular mechanisms of miR‐140 in host‐bacterial interactions during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M tb) infections. The miR‐140 expression and relevant mRNA expression were detected by quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR); the protein expression levels were analysed by ELISA and western blot; M tb survival was measured by colony formation unit assay; potential interactions between miR‐140 and the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of tumour necrosis factor receptor‐associated factor 6 (TRAF6) was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. MiR‐140 was up‐regulated in the human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from TB patients and in THP‐1 and U937 cells with M tb infection. Overexpression of miR‐140 promoted M tb survival; on the other hand, miR‐140 knockdown attenuated M tb survival. The pro‐inflammatory cytokines including interleukin 6, tumour necrosis‐α, interleukin‐1β and interferon‐γ were enhanced by M tb infection in THP‐1 and U937 cells. MiR‐140 overexpression reduced these pro‐inflammatory cytokines levels in THP‐1 and U937 cells with M tb infection; while knockdown of miR‐140 exerted the opposite actions. TRAF6 was identified to be a downstream target of miR‐140 and was negatively modulated by miR‐140. TRAF6 overexpression increased the pro‐inflammatory cytokines levels and partially restored the suppressive effects of miR‐140 overexpression on pro‐inflammatory cytokines levels in THP‐1 and U937 cells with M tb infection. In conclusion, our results implied that miR‐140 promoted M tb survival and reduced the pro‐inflammatory cytokines levels in macrophages with M tb infection partially via modulating TRAF6 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofei Li
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an City, China.,Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Third People's Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, China
| | - Shan Huang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Third People's Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, China
| | - Tingting Yu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Third People's Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, China
| | - Guiliang Liang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Third People's Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, China
| | - Hongwei Liu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Third People's Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, China
| | - Dong Pu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Third People's Hospital of Kunming City, Kunming, China
| | - Niancai Peng
- School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an City, China.,School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an City, China
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41
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Konwar C, Manokhina I, Terry J, Inkster AM, Robinson WP. Altered levels of placental miR-338-3p and miR-518b are associated with acute chorioamnionitis and IL6 genotype. Placenta 2019; 82:42-45. [PMID: 31174625 DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2019.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Placental-derived miRNAs are attractive candidates as biomarkers of placental health, but their associations with specific pathologies, such as acute chorioamnionitis (aCA), are not well explored. Samples of chorionic villi from 57 placentas (33 aCA and 24 non-aCA) were analyzed. Expression was quantified for six candidate miRNAs (miR-146a, miR-210, miR-223, miR-338-3p, miR-411, and miR-518b), using quantitative real-time PCR. miR-518b and miR-338-3p were differentially expressed between aCA cases and non-aCA cases (Bonferroni-corrected p < 0.05). Further, we observed that placental miR-518b expression was associated with an IL6 SNP (rs1800796), a polymorphism we previously reported as a risk-conferring variant for aCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaini Konwar
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada.
| | - Irina Manokhina
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada.
| | - Jefferson Terry
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada; Department of Pathology, BC Children's Hospital, BC V6H 3N1, Canada.
| | - Amy M Inkster
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada.
| | - Wendy P Robinson
- BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada.
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de Pinho FA, Vendrame CMV, Maciel BLL, Silva LDS, Miyashiro SI, Jerônimo SMB, Goto H. Association between Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Levels and the Disease Progression and Anemia in Visceral Leishmaniasis. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2019; 100:808-815. [PMID: 30761980 PMCID: PMC6447109 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We analyzed the association between insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and the pathogenesis of anemia during active visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Serum levels of IGF-I, IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3), and cytokines were measured in samples from individuals with active VL and cured VL, asymptomatic Leishmania-infected, and noninfected individuals. Then, we extended our analysis to VL dogs to evaluate hematimetric parameters, bone marrow alterations, and cytokine and IGF-I expression. We identified a positive correlation between lower IGF-I and IGFBP3 levels in active VL patients and lower hemoglobin levels. In infected dogs, there was a positive correlation between lower IGF-I expression in the bone marrow and lower peripheral blood hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. There was no correlation between decreased IGF-I level/expression and any measured cytokine serum levels in either host. The data suggest that low IGF-I expression is associated with pathogenesis of anemia in active VL, primarily in severe cases, by mechanisms other than alterations in cytokine production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flaviane Alves de Pinho
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Anatomia, Patologia e Clínica, Escola de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
| | | | - Bruna Leal Lima Maciel
- Departamento de Nutrição, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Lucilene dos Santos Silva
- Setor de Patologia Animal, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Teresina, Brazil
| | - Samantha Ive Miyashiro
- Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Selma Maria Bezerra Jerônimo
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências and Institute of Tropical Medicine of Rio Grande do Norte, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
- National Institute of Science and Technology of Tropical Diseases, Natal, Brazil
| | - Hiro Goto
- Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Medicina Preventiva, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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43
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Afrin F, Khan I, Hemeg HA. Leishmania-Host Interactions-An Epigenetic Paradigm. Front Immunol 2019; 10:492. [PMID: 30967861 PMCID: PMC6438953 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is one of the major neglected tropical diseases, for which no vaccines exist. Chemotherapy is hampered by limited efficacy coupled with development of resistance and other side effects. Leishmania parasites elude the host defensive mechanisms by modulating their surface proteins as well as dampening the host's immune responses. The parasites use the conventional RNA polymerases peculiarly under different environmental cues or pressures such as the host's milieu or the drugs. The mechanisms that restructure post-translational modifications are poorly understood but altered epigenetic histone modifications are believed to be instrumental in influencing the chromatin remodeling in the parasite. Interestingly, the parasite also modulates gene expression of the hosts, thereby hijacking or dampening the host immune response. Epigenetic factor such as DNA methylation of cytosine residues has been incriminated in silencing of macrophage-specific genes responsible for defense against these parasites. Although there is dearth of information regarding the epigenetic alterations-mediated pathogenesis in these parasites and the host, the unique epigenetic marks may represent targets for potential anti-leishmanial drug candidates. This review circumscribes the epigenetic changes during Leishmania infection, and the epigenetic modifications they enforce upon the host cells to ensure a safe haven. The non-coding micro RNAs as post-transcriptional regulators and correlates of wound healing and toll-like receptor signaling, as well as prognostic biomarkers of therapeutic failure and healing time are also explored. Finally, we highlight the recent advances on how the epigenetic perturbations may impact leishmaniasis vaccine development as biomarkers of safety and immunogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farhat Afrin
- Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madina, Saudi Arabia
| | - Inbesat Khan
- Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Bhopal, India
| | - Hassan A Hemeg
- Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madina, Saudi Arabia
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44
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Fernandes JCR, Aoki JI, Maia Acuña S, Zampieri RA, Markus RP, Floeter-Winter LM, Muxel SM. Melatonin and Leishmania amazonensis Infection Altered miR-294, miR-30e, and miR-302d Impacting on Tnf, Mcp-1, and Nos2 Expression. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:60. [PMID: 30949455 PMCID: PMC6435487 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniases are neglected diseases that cause a large spectrum of clinical manifestations, from cutaneous to visceral lesions. The initial steps of the inflammatory response involve the phagocytosis of Leishmania and the parasite replication inside the macrophage phagolysosome. Melatonin, the darkness-signaling hormone, is involved in modulation of macrophage activation during infectious diseases, controlling the inflammatory response against parasites. In this work, we showed that exogenous melatonin treatment of BALB/c macrophages reduced Leishmania amazonensis infection and modulated host microRNA (miRNA) expression profile, as well as cytokine production such as IL-6, MCP-1/CCL2, and, RANTES/CCL9. The role of one of the regulated miRNA (miR-294-3p) in L. amazonensis BALB/c infection was confirmed with miRNA inhibition assays, which led to increased expression levels of Tnf and Mcp-1/Ccl2 and diminished infectivity. Additionally, melatonin treatment or miR-30e-5p and miR-302d-3p inhibition increased nitric oxide synthase 2 (Nos2) mRNA expression levels and nitric oxide (NO) production, altering the macrophage activation state and reducing infection. Altogether, these data demonstrated the impact of melatonin treatment on the miRNA profile of BALB/c macrophage infected with L. amazonensis defining the infection outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Cristina Ribeiro Fernandes
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Instituto de Medicina Tropical, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana Ide Aoki
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Maia Acuña
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Andrade Zampieri
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Regina P Markus
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Sandra Marcia Muxel
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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45
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López-Rosas I, López-Camarillo C, Salinas-Vera YM, Hernández-de la Cruz ON, Palma-Flores C, Chávez-Munguía B, Resendis-Antonio O, Guillen N, Pérez-Plasencia C, Álvarez-Sánchez ME, Ramírez-Moreno E, Marchat LA. Entamoeba histolytica Up-Regulates MicroRNA-643 to Promote Apoptosis by Targeting XIAP in Human Epithelial Colon Cells. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 8:437. [PMID: 30671387 PMCID: PMC6333105 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that function as negative regulators of gene expression. Recent evidences suggested that host cells miRNAs are involved in the progression of infectious diseases, but its role in amoebiasis remains largely unknown. Here, we reported an unexplored role for miRNAs of human epithelial colon cells during the apoptosis induced by Entamoeba histolytica. We demonstrated for the first time that SW-480 colon cells change their miRNAs profile in response to parasite exposure. Our data showed that virulent E. histolytica trophozoites induced apoptosis of SW-480 colon cells after 45 min interaction, which was associated to caspases-3 and -9 activation. Comprehensive profiling of 667 miRNAs using Taqman Low-Density Arrays showed that 6 and 15 miRNAs were significantly (FC > 1.5; p < 0.05) modulated in SW-480 cells after 45 and 75 min interaction with parasites, respectively. Remarkably, no significant regulation of the 6-miRNAs signature (miR-526b-5p, miR-150, miR-643, miR-615-5p, miR-525, and miR-409-3p) was found when SW-480 cells were exposed to non-virulent Entamoeba dispar. Moreover, we confirmed that miR-150, miR-643, miR-615-5p, and miR-525 exhibited similar regulation in SW-480 and Caco2 colon cells after 45 min interaction with trophozoites. Exhaustive bioinformatic analysis of the six-miRNAs signature revealed intricate miRNAs-mRNAs co-regulation networks in which the anti-apoptotic XIAP, API5, BCL2, and AKT1 genes were the major targets of the set of six-miRNAs. Of these, we focused in the study of functional relationships between miR-643, upregulated at 45 min interaction, and its predicted target X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP). Interestingly, interplay of amoeba with SW-480 cells resulted in downregulation of XIAP consistent with apoptosis activation. More importantly, loss of function studies using antagomiRs showed that forced inhibition of miR-643 leads to restoration of XIAP levels and suppression of both apoptosis and caspases-3 and -9 activation. Congruently, mechanistic studies using luciferase reporter assays confirmed that miR-643 exerts a postranscripcional negative regulation of XIAP by targeting its 3′-UTR indicating that it's a downstream effector. In summary, we provide novel lines of evidence suggesting that early-branched eukaryote E. histolytica may promote apoptosis of human colon cells by modulating, in part, the host microRNome which highlight an unexpected role for miRNA-643/XIAP axis in the host cellular response to parasites infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itzel López-Rosas
- Catedrática CONACYT, Laboratorio de Genómica Funcional y Biología Molecular, Colegio de Postgraduados Campus Campeche, Campeche, Mexico
| | - César López-Camarillo
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Yarely M Salinas-Vera
- Posgrado en Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | | | - Bibiana Chávez-Munguía
- Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Osbaldo Resendis-Antonio
- Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica y Coordinación de la Investigación Científica, Red de Apoyo a la Investigación, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Nancy Guillen
- Unidad de Análisis Cuantitativo de Imágenes, Instituto Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Carlos Pérez-Plasencia
- Unidad de Biomedicina, Facultad de Estudios Superiores-Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.,Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Esther Ramírez-Moreno
- Programa en Biomedicina Molecular y Red de Biotecnología, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Laurence A Marchat
- Programa en Biomedicina Molecular y Red de Biotecnología, Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico
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46
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Muxel SM, Acuña SM, Aoki JI, Zampieri RA, Floeter-Winter LM. Toll-Like Receptor and miRNA-let-7e Expression Alter the Inflammatory Response in Leishmania amazonensis-Infected Macrophages. Front Immunol 2018; 9:2792. [PMID: 30555476 PMCID: PMC6283264 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasite recognition by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) contributes to macrophage activation and subsequent control of Leishmania infection through the coordinated production of pro-inflammatory and microbicidal effector molecules. The modulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression by Leishmania infection potentially mediates the post-transcriptional regulation of the expression of genes involved in leishmanicidal activity. Here, the contribution of TLR signaling to the miRNA profile and gene expression was evaluated in Leishmania amazonensis-infected murine macrophages. The infectivity of L. amazonensis was higher in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages from mice knockout for myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88−/−), TLR2 (TLR2−/−), or TLR4 (TLR4−/−) than wild type C57BL/6 (WT). L. amazonensis infection of WT macrophages modulated the expression of 32% of the miRNAs analyzed, while 50% were upregulated. The absence of MyD88, TLR2, and TLR4 altered the percentage of miRNAs modulated during L. amazonensis infection, including the downregulation of let-7e expression. Moreover, the absence of signals mediated by MyD88, TLR2, or TLR4 reduced nitric oxide synthase 2 (Nos2) mRNA expression during infection. Indeed, the inhibition of let-7e increased levels of the Nos2 mRNA and NOS2 (or iNOS) protein and nitric oxide (NO) production in L. amazonensis-infected macrophages (4–24 h). The absence of TLR2 and inhibition of let-7e increased the expression of the arginase 1 (Arg1) mRNA but did not alter the protein level during infection. However, higher levels of the L-arginine transporters Cat2B and Cat1 were detected in the absence of Myd88 signaling during infection but were not altered following let-7e inhibition. The inhibition of let-7e impacted the global expression of genes in the TLR pathway by upregulating the expression of recognition and adaptors molecules, such as Tlr6, Tlr9, Ly96, Tirap, Traf 6, Ticam1, Tollip, Casp8, Map3k1, Mapk8, Nfkbib, Nfkbil1, Ppara, Mapk8ip3, Hspd1, and Ube2n, as well as immunomodulators, such as Ptgs2/Cox2, Csf 2, Csf 3, Ifnb1, Il6ra, and Ilr1, impacting NOS2 expression, NO production and parasite infectiveness. In conclusion, L. amazonensis infection alters the TLR signaling pathways by modulating the expression of miRNAs in macrophages to subvert the host immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Marcia Muxel
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Stephanie Maia Acuña
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Juliana Ide Aoki
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Andrade Zampieri
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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47
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Lago TS, Silva JA, Lago EL, Carvalho EM, Zanette DL, Castellucci LC. The miRNA 361-3p, a Regulator of GZMB and TNF Is Associated With Therapeutic Failure and Longer Time Healing of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by L. (viannia) braziliensis. Front Immunol 2018; 9:2621. [PMID: 30487794 PMCID: PMC6247993 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
L. (viannia) braziliensis infection causes American Tegumentary Leishmaniasis (ATL), with prolonged time to healing lesions. The potent inflammatory response developed by the host is important to control the parasite burden and infection however an unbalanced immunity may cooperate to the tissue damage observed. The range of mechanisms underlying the pathological responses associated with ATL still needs to be better understood. That includes epigenetic regulation by non-coding MicroRNAs (miRNAs), non-coding sequences around 22 nucleotides that act as post-transcriptional regulators of RNAs encoding proteins. The miRNAs have been associated with diverse parasitic diseases, including leishmaniasis. Here we evaluated miRNAs that targeted genes expressed in cutaneous leishmaniasis lesions (CL) by comparing its expression in both CL and normal skin obtained from the same individual. In addition, we evaluated if the miRNAs expression would be correlated with clinical parameters such as therapeutic failure, healing time as well as lesion size. The miR-361-3p and miR-140-3p were significantly more expressed in CL lesions compared to normal skin samples (p = 0.0001 and p < 0.0001, respectively). In addition, the miR-361-3p was correlated with both, therapeutic failure and healing time of disease (r = 0.6, p = 0.003 and r = 0.5, p = 0.007, respectively). In addition, complementary analysis shown that miR-361-3p is able to identify with good sensitivity (81.2%) and specificity (100%) patients who tend to fail initial treatment with pentavalent antimonial (Sbv). Finally, the survival analysis considering “cure” as the endpoint showed that the higher the expression of miR-361-3p, the longer the healing time of CL. Overall, our data suggest the potential of miR-361-3p as a prognostic biomarker in CL caused by L. braziliensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tainã S Lago
- Serviço de Imunologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.,Laboratório de Investigação em Genética e Hematologia Tanslacional do Instituto Gonçalo Moniz-Fiocruz-Ba, Salvador, Brazil
| | | | - Ednaldo L Lago
- Serviço de Imunologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Edgar M Carvalho
- Serviço de Imunologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.,Laboratório de Pesquisa Clínica (LAPEC) do Instituto Gonçalo Moniz-Fiocruz-Ba, Salvador, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), Salvador, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Dalila L Zanette
- Laboratório de Investigação em Genética e Hematologia Tanslacional do Instituto Gonçalo Moniz-Fiocruz-Ba, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Léa Cristina Castellucci
- Serviço de Imunologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais (INCT-DT), Salvador, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
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48
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MicroRNA expression profiling of dibenzalacetone (DBA) treated intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania donovani. Exp Parasitol 2018; 193:5-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2018.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Revised: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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49
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Ontoria E, Hernández-Santana YE, González-García AC, López MC, Valladares B, Carmelo E. Transcriptional Profiling of Immune-Related Genes in Leishmania infantum-Infected Mice: Identification of Potential Biomarkers of Infection and Progression of Disease. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2018; 8:197. [PMID: 30013952 PMCID: PMC6036295 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania spp. is a protozoan parasite that affects millions of people around the world. At present, there is no effective vaccine to prevent leishmaniases in humans. A major limitation in vaccine development is the lack of precise understanding of the particular immunological mechanisms that allow parasite survival in the host. The parasite-host cell interaction induces dramatic changes in transcriptome patterns in both organisms, therefore, a detailed analysis of gene expression in infected tissues will contribute to the evaluation of drug and vaccine candidates, the identification of potential biomarkers, and the understanding of the immunological pathways that lead to protection or progression of disease. In this large-scale analysis, differential expression of 112 immune-related genes has been analyzed using high-throughput qPCR in spleens of infected and naïve Balb/c mice at four different time points. This analysis revealed that early response against Leishmania infection is characterized by the upregulation of Th1 markers and M1-macrophage activation molecules such as Ifng, Stat1, Cxcl9, Cxcl10, Ccr5, Cxcr3, Xcl1, and Ccl3. This activation doesn't protect spleen from infection, since parasitic burden rises along time. This marked difference in gene expression between infected and control mice disappears during intermediate stages of infection, probably related to the strong anti-inflammatory and immunosuppresory signals that are activated early upon infection (Ctla4) or remain activated throughout the experiment (Il18bp). The overexpression of these Th1/M1 markers is restored later in the chronic phase (8 wpi), suggesting the generation of a classical "protective response" against leishmaniasis. Nonetheless, the parasitic burden rockets at this timepoint. This apparent contradiction can be explained by the generation of a regulatory immune response characterized by overexpression of Ifng, Tnfa, Il10, and downregulation Il4 that counteracts the Th1/M1 response. This large pool of data was also used to identify potential biomarkers of infection and parasitic burden in spleen, on the bases of two different regression models. Given the results, gene expression signature analysis appears as a useful tool to identify mechanisms involved in disease outcome and to establish a rational approach for the identification of potential biomarkers useful for monitoring disease progression, new therapies or vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Ontoria
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - Yasmina E. Hernández-Santana
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - Ana C. González-García
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - Manuel C. López
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina “López Neyra”, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada, Spain
| | - Basilio Valladares
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - Emma Carmelo
- Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
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50
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Colineau L, Lambertz U, Fornes O, Wasserman WW, Reiner NE. c-Myc is a novel Leishmania virulence factor by proxy that targets the host miRNA system and is essential for survival in human macrophages. J Biol Chem 2018; 293:12805-12819. [PMID: 29934305 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.002462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Revised: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmania species are intracellular protozoan pathogens that have evolved to successfully infect and deactivate host macrophages. How this deactivation is brought about is not completely understood. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as ubiquitous regulators of macrophage gene expression that contribute to shaping the immune responses to intracellular pathogens. Conversely, several pathogens have evolved the ability to exploit host miRNA expression to manipulate host-cell phenotype. However, very little is known about the mechanisms used by intracellular pathogens to drive changes in host-cell miRNA abundance. Using miRNA expression profiling of Leishmania donovani-infected human macrophages, we show here that Leishmania infection induced a genome-wide down-regulation of host miRNAs. This repression occurred at the level of miRNA gene transcription, because the synthesis rates of primary miRNAs were significantly decreased in infected cells. miRNA repression depended on the host macrophage transcription factor c-Myc. Indeed, the expression of host c-Myc was markedly up-regulated by Leishmania infection, and c-Myc silencing reversed the miRNA suppression. Furthermore, c-Myc silencing significantly reduced intracellular survival of Leishmania, demonstrating that c-Myc is essential for Leishmania pathogenesis. Taken together, these findings identify c-Myc not only as being responsible for miRNA repression in Leishmania-infected macrophages but also as a novel and essential virulence factor by proxy that promotes Leishmania survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Colineau
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1M9
| | - Ulrike Lambertz
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1M9
| | - Oriol Fornes
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Medical Genetics, British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 3J5, Canada
| | - Wyeth W Wasserman
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Medical Genetics, British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 3J5, Canada
| | - Neil E Reiner
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 1M9.
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