CircRNA and miRNA expression analysis in livers of mice with Toxoplasma gondii infection

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is an important zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii). However, the functions of circRNAs and miRNAs in response to T. gondii infection in the livers of mice at acute and chronic stages remain unknown. Here, high-throughput RNA sequencing was performed for detecting the expression of circRNAs and miRNAs in livers of mice infected with 20 T. gondii cysts at the acute and chronic stages, in order to understand the potential molecular mechanisms underlying hepatic toxoplasmosis. Overall, 265 and 97 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs were found in livers at the acute and chronic infection stages in comparison with controls, respectively. In addition, 171 and 77 DEmiRNAs were found in livers at the acute and chronic infection stages, respectively. Functional annotation showed that some immunity-related Gene ontology terms, such as “positive regulation of cytokine production”, “regulation of T cell activation”, and “immune receptor activity”, were enriched at the two infection stages. Moreover, the pathways “Valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation”, “Fatty acid metabolism”, and “Glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism” were involved in liver disease. Remarkably, DEcircRNA 6:124519352|124575359 was significantly correlated with DEmiRNAs mmu-miR-146a-5p and mmu-miR-150-5p in the network that was associated with liver immunity and pathogenesis of disease. This study revealed that the expression profiling of circRNAs in the livers was changed after T. gondii infection, and improved our understanding of the transcriptomic landscape of hepatic toxoplasmosis in mice.

Study on the mechanism of miRNAs on liver injury in the condition of Protoscocephalus alveolarus transhepatic portal vein infection

“…In recent years, miRNAs have been widely involved in the regulation of cancer, 16 infectious diseases, 17 and other diseases 18 . Altered expression of miRNAs is associated with liver metabolism dysregulation, liver injury, liver fibrosis, and tumor development, making miRNAs attractive therapeutic strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases 19 . Here, we injected E. multiloculari s through the hepatic portal vein to establish a mouse model of infection, after 3 months of infection, small RNA sequencing was performed, and miRNAs related to liver injury were screened out.…”

Expression profiles of host miRNAs and circRNAs and ceRNA network during Toxoplasma gondii lytic cycle

“…Additionally, miRNAs and circRNAs can act as regulatory factors in the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Shao and Chen 2016 ; Awuson-David et al 2023 ; Dong et al 2023 ). T. gondii infection also alters the expression of host miRNAs and circRNAs in vivo to promote parasite replication (Xu et al 2013 ; He et al 2016 ; Cong et al 2017 ; Hu et al 2018 ; Zou et al 2022 ).…”

Study on the mechanism of miRNAs on liver injury in the condition of protoscocephalus alveolarus transhepatic portal vein infection

“…In recent years, miRNAs have been widely involved in the regulation of cancer 16 , infectious diseases 17 and other diseases 18 . Altered expression of miRNAs is associated with liver metabolism dysregulation, liver injury, liver fibrosis and tumour development, making miRNAs attractive therapeutic strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases 19 . Here, We injected E. multiloculari s through the hepatic portal vein to establish a mouse model of infection, after 3 months of infection, transcriptome sequencing was performed, and miRNAs related to liver injury were screened out.…”