MicroRNA expression profile in patients with cystic echinococcosis and identification of possible cellular pathways

Abstract

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a neglected tropical disease, caused by metacestode (larval) form of the Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (sl) in humans. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, stable, tissue-specific RNA molecules encoded by the genome that are not translated into proteins. Circulating miRNA expression profiles vary in health and disease. The aim of this study is to determine the altered cellular pathways in CE by comparing the miRNA profiles of controls and CE patients with active or inactive cysts. Following abdominal ultrasonography (US) examination, 20 patients diagnosed with active CE (CE1, CE2, CE3a and CE3b) or inactive CE (CE4 and CE5) and three healthy controls were included in the study. The expression profiles of 372 biologically relevant human miRNAs were investigated in serum samples from CE patients and healthy controls with miScript miRNA HC PCR Array. Compared with the control group, expression of 6 miRNAs (hsa-miR-4659a-5p, hsa-miR-4518, hsa-miR-3977, hsa-miR-4692, hsa-miR-181b-3p, hsa-miR-4491) and one miRNA (hsa-miR-4687-5p) were found to be downregulated in CE patients with active and inactive cysts, respectively (p < 0.05). For downregulated miRNAs in this study, predicted targets were found to be associated mainly with cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell-cell interactions and cell cycle regulation. Further studies in this direction may elucidate the pathogenesis of human CE and the relationship between CE and other pathologies.

Circulating Small RNA Profiling of Patients with Alveolar and Cystic Echinococcosis

“…The candidate markers identified in this work were not detected in previous sRNA high-throughput studies of human CE [45,46] since different sample type (e.g., blood), technology and/or analysis criteria were used. In the mentioned articles, PCR arrays were employed and thus, results were dependent on the composition of each selected plate, where a limited number of miRNAs were amplified.…”

“…Contrarily, in CE patients, no parasite miRNAs were detected. Previously, high throughput characterizations of the profiles of circulating sRNAs were performed in experimental AE [43], experimental CE [44], and human CE [45,46]. However, parasite miRNAs were only studied in the AE experiment where authors inoculated mice with protoscoleces and identified 7 circulating miR-NAs which did not include emu-miR-87-3p.…”

“…Evidence suggests that this parasite employs both vesicular and non-vesicular pathways to export sRNAs, with a predominance of the non-vesicular route towards the external milieu, i.e., the host [34]. Regarding sRNA secretion in vivo, high throughput profiling of circulating miRNAs was performed in experimental AE [43], experimental CE [44], and human CE [45,46]. However, parasite miRNAs were only studied in the AE experiment.…”

Assessing the Potential Apoptotic Effects of Different Hydatid Cyst Fluids on Human Healthy Hepatocytes and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

“…A study investigating the miRNA expression profile differences between CE patients and healthy controls revealed that the identified miRNAs were related to cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell-cell interactions, and the cell cycle. The decrease in the expression of these miRNAs in CE patients suggested that CE may play a regulatory role in the anti-cancer effect through miRNA regulation [ 31 ]. To date, many mechanisms have been suggested for CE-related anti-cancer effects, including parasite molecules and activation of host immune response [ 1 ].…”