Bioinformatic and experimental methods to identify and validate bacterial RNA-human RNA interactions

Abstract

Ample evidence supports the importance of the microbiota on human health and disease. Recent studies suggest that extracellular vesicles are an important means of bacterial-host communication, in part via the transport of small RNAs (sRNAs). Bacterial sRNAs have been shown to co-precipitate with human and mouse RNA-induced silencing complex, hinting that some may regulate gene expression as eukaryotic microRNAs do. Bioinformatic tools, including those that can incorporate an sRNA’s secondary structure, can be used to predict interactions between bacterial sRNAs and human messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Validation of these potential interactions using reproducible experimental methods is essential to move the field forward. This review will cover the evidence of interspecies communication via sRNAs, bioinformatic tools currently available to identify potential bacterial sRNA-host (specifically, human) mRNA interactions, and experimental methods to identify and validate those interactions.

Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles in the Regulation of Inflammatory Response and Host-Microbe Interactions

“…However, the mechanism requires further investigation (171). In addition, bioinformatic technology may uncover a relationship between BEV-sRNAs and human mRNAs, which could affect gene expression if these interkingdom RNAs can link together (172); however, the experimental methods proposed to test these theories have yet to be applied practically.…”