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Silva Grijó Farani P, Iandra da Silva Ferreira B, Begum K, Vilar-Pereira G, Pereira IR, Fernández-Figueroa EA, Cardenas-Ovando RA, Almeida IC, Roy S, Lannes-Vieira J, Moreira OC. Treatment with benznidazole and pentoxifylline regulates microRNA transcriptomic profile in a murine model of Chagas chronic cardiomyopathy. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011223. [PMID: 36972298 PMCID: PMC10121046 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disorders in endemic areas of Chagas disease (CD), a neglected tropical illness caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. CCC is characterized by parasite persistence and inflammatory response in the heart tissue, which occur parallel to microRNA (miRNA) alterations. Here, we investigated the miRNA transcriptome profiling in the cardiac tissue of chronically T. cruzi-infected mice treated with a suboptimal dose of benznidazole (Bz), the immunomodulator pentoxifylline alone (PTX), or the combination of both (Bz+PTX), following the CCC onset. At 150 days post-infection, Bz, PTX, and Bz+PTX treatment regimens improved electrocardiographic alterations, reducing the percentage of mice afflicted by sinus arrhythmia and second-degree atrioventricular block (AVB2) when compared with the vehicle-treated animals. miRNA Transcriptome profiling revealed considerable changes in the differential expression of miRNAs in the Bz and Bz+PTX treatment groups compared with the control (infected, vehicle-treated) group. The latter showed pathways related to organismal abnormalities, cellular development, skeletal muscle development, cardiac enlargement, and fibrosis, likely associated with CCC. Bz-Treated mice exhibited 68 differentially expressed miRNAs related to signaling pathways like cell cycle, cell death and survival, tissue morphology, and connective tissue function. Finally, the Bz+PTX-treated group revealed 58 differentially expressed miRNAs associated with key signaling pathways related to cellular growth and proliferation, tissue development, cardiac fibrosis, damage, and necrosis/cell death. The T. cruzi-induced upregulation of miR-146b-5p, previously shown in acutely infected mice and in vitro T. cruzi-infected cardiomyocytes, was reversed upon Bz and Bz+PTX treatment regimens when further experimentally validated. Our results further our understanding of molecular pathways related to CCC progression and evaluation of treatment response. Moreover, the differentially expressed miRNAs may serve as drug targets, associated molecular therapy, or biomarkers of treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila Silva Grijó Farani
- Real-Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Parasitology, 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 da Silva Ferreira
- Real-Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Parasitology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Khodeza Begum
- Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Glaucia Vilar-Pereira
- Laboratory of Biology of the Interactions, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Isabela Resende Pereira
- Laboratory of Biology of the Interactions, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Edith A. Fernández-Figueroa
- Computational and Integrative Genomics, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica, Arenal Tepepan, Mexico City, Mexico
| | | | - Igor C. Almeida
- Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - Sourav Roy
- Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas, United States of America
| | - 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 Virology and Parasitology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Ferreira BIDS, da Silva-Gomes NL, Coelho WLDCNP, da Costa VD, Carneiro VCDS, Kader RL, Amaro MP, Villar LM, Miyajima F, Alves-Leon SV, de Paula VS, Leon LAA, Moreira OC. Validation of a novel molecular assay to the diagnostic of COVID-19 based on real time PCR with high resolution melting. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260087. [PMID: 34807915 PMCID: PMC8608302 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented need for RT-qPCR-based molecular diagnostic testing, placing a strain on the supply chain and the availability of commercially available PCR testing kits and reagents. The effect of limited molecular diagnostics-related supplies has been felt across the globe, disproportionally impacting molecular diagnostic testing in developing countries where acquisition of supplies is limited due to availability. The increasing global demand for commercial molecular diagnostic testing kits and reagents has made standard PCR assays cost prohibitive, resulting in the development of alternative approaches to detect SARS-CoV-2 in clinical specimens, circumventing the need for commercial diagnostic testing kits while mitigating the high-demand for molecular diagnostics testing. The timely availability of the complete SARS-CoV-2 genome in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated the rapid development and deployment of specific primers and standardized laboratory protocols for the molecular diagnosis of COVID-19. An alternative method offering a highly specific manner of detecting and genotyping pathogens within clinical specimens is based on the melting temperature differences of PCR products. This method is based on the melting temperature differences between purine and pyrimidine bases. Here, RT-qPCR assays coupled with a High Resolution Melting analysis (HRM-RTqPCR) were developed to target different regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genome (RdRp, E and N) and an internal control (human RNAse P gene). The assays were validated using synthetic sequences from the viral genome and clinical specimens (nasopharyngeal swabs, serum and saliva) of sixty-five patients with severe or moderate COVID-19 from different states within Brazil; a larger validation group than that used in the development to the commercially available TaqMan RT-qPCR assay which is considered the gold standard for COVID-19 testing. The sensitivity of the HRM-RTqPCR assays targeting the viral N, RdRp and E genes were 94.12, 98.04 and 92.16%, with 100% specificity to the 3 SARS-CoV-2 genome targets, and a diagnostic accuracy of 95.38, 98.46 and 93.85%, respectively. Thus, HRM-RTqPCR emerges as an attractive alternative and low-cost methodology for the molecular diagnosis of COVID-19 in restricted-budget laboratories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz Iandra da Silva Ferreira
- Real Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Endemic Diseases, Oswaldo Cruz Institute/ Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Natália Lins da Silva-Gomes
- Real Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Endemic Diseases, Oswaldo Cruz Institute/ Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Rafael Lopes Kader
- University Hospital Clementino Fraga Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Marisa Pimentel Amaro
- University Hospital Clementino Fraga Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Lívia Melo Villar
- Laboratory of Viral Hepatitis, Oswaldo Cruz Institute/ Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Fábio Miyajima
- Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Branch Ceará, Eusebio, Brazil
| | - Soniza Vieira Alves-Leon
- University Hospital Clementino Fraga Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Luciane Almeida Amado Leon
- Laboratory of Technological Development in Virology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute/ Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Otacilio Cruz Moreira
- Real Time PCR Platform RPT09A, Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Endemic Diseases, Oswaldo Cruz Institute/ Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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