Title
Differentially expressed microRNAs in experimental cerebral malaria and their involvement in endocytosis, adherens junctions, FoxO and TGF-β signalling pathways
Date Issued
01 December 2018
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Martin-Alonso A.
Cohen A.
Foronda P.
Benito A.
Berzosa P.
Valladares B.
Grau G.E.
Publisher(s)
Nature Publishing Group
Abstract
Cerebral malaria (CM) is the most severe manifestation of infection with Plasmodium, however its pathogenesis is still not completely understood. microRNA (miRNA) have been an area of focus in infectious disease research, due to their ability to affect normal biological processes, and have been shown to play roles in various viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, including malaria. The expression of miRNA was studied following infection of CBA mice with either Plasmodium berghei ANKA (causing CM), or Plasmodium yoelii (causing severe but non-cerebral malaria (NCM)). Using microarray analysis, miRNA expression was compared in the brains of non-infected (NI), NCM and CM mice. Six miRNA were significantly dysregulated between NCM and CM mice, and four of these, miR-19a-3p, miR-19b-3p, miR-142-3p and miR-223-3p, were further validated by qPCR assays. These miRNA are significantly involved in several pathways relevant to CM, including the TGF-β and endocytosis pathways. Dysregulation of these miRNA during CM specifically compared with NCM suggests that these miRNA, through their regulation of downstream targets, may be vitally involved in the neurological syndrome. Our data implies that, at least in the mouse model, miRNA may play a regulatory role in CM pathogenesis.
Volume
8
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Salud pública, Salud ambiental Medicina tropical Inmunología
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85050684371
PubMed ID
Source
Scientific Reports
ISSN of the container
20452322
Sponsor(s)
This work was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (#1099920 for GEG). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus