Peripheral blood microRNAs expression is associated with infant respiratory syncytial virus infection

Abstract

// Shouyi Wang 1 , Pin Liu 1 , Pu Yang 1 , Junwen Zheng 1 and Dongchi Zhao 1 1 Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Digital Health and Data Center, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China Correspondence to: Dongchi Zhao, email: // Keywords : respiratory syncytial virus, peripheral blood, miRNA, infants, inflammatory response, Immunology and Microbiology Section, Immune response, Immunity Received : July 10, 2016 Accepted : June 27, 2017 Published : July 18, 2017 Abstract MicroRNAs respond to the inflammatory responses induced by RNA virus infection. In this study, we investigated the specific microRNA profile in the peripheral blood of infants infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Blood specimens were analyzed using microRNA microarrays, followed by quantitative RT-PCR. A specific microRNA profile in the peripheral blood of RSV-infected infants was identified for the first time. MiR-106b-5p, miR-20b-5p, and miR-342-3p were upregulated, while miR-320e, miR-320d, miR-877-5p, miR-122-5p, and miR-92b-5p were downregulated. Pathway analysis indicated that the dysregulated microRNAs were involved in inflammatory and immune responses, including Wnt, TGF-β, insulin, and T and B cell receptor signaling. These results demonstrate that RSV infection associates with a distinct microRNA fingerprint and suggest that RSV induces inflammatory responses in infants.