title: Co-expression of host and viral microRNAs in porcine dendritic cells infected by the pseudorabies virus.
abstract: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs approximately 22 nt long that modulate gene expression in animals and plants. It has been recently demonstrated that herpesviruses encode miRNAs to control the post-transcriptional regulation of expression from their own genomes and possibly that of their host, thus adding an additional layer of complexity to the physiological cross-talk between host and pathogen. The present study focussed on the interactions between porcine dendritic cells (DCs) and the Pseudorabies virus (PRV), an alpha-herpesvirus causing Aujeszky's disease in pigs. A catalogue of porcine and viral miRNAs, expressed eight hours post-infection, was established by deep sequencing. An average of 2 million reads per sample with a size of 21-24 nucleotides was obtained from six libraries representing three biological replicates of infected and mock-infected DCs. Almost 95% of reads mapped to the draft pig genome sequence and pig miRNAs previously annotated in dedicated databases were detected by sequence alignment. In silico prediction allowed the identification of unknown porcine as well as of five miRNAs transcribed by the Large Latency Transcript (LLT) of PRV. The gene target prediction of the viral miRNAs and the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of differentially expressed pig miRNAs were conducted to contextualize the identified small RNA molecules and functionally characterize their involvement in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. The results support a role for PRV miRNAs in the maintenance of the host cell latency state through the down-regulation of immediate-early viral genes which is similar to other herpesviruses. The differentially expressed swine miRNAs identified a unique network of target genes with highly significant functions in the development and function of the nervous system and in infectious mechanisms, suggesting that the modulation of both host and viral miRNAs is necessary for the establishment of PRV latency.
authors.affiliation: Parco Tecnologico Padano, Polo Universitario, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anselmo
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Flori
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jaffrezic
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rutigliano
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cecere
authors.forename: Naima
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cortes-Perez
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lefèvre
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rogel-Gaillard
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giuffra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics; D011558:Herpesvirus 1, Suid / Q000235:genetics*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011557:Pseudorabies / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000821:virology*; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012367:RNA, Viral