title: An invertebrate-specific miRNA targeted the ancient cholinergic neuroendocrine system of oyster.
abstract: Acetylcholine (ACh) is the main neurotransmitter in the cholinergic neuroendocrine system and plays an indispensable role in modulating diverse immune responses. As important transporters in choline uptake, choline transporter-like proteins (CTLs) can control ACh synthesis and release indirectly in multiple organisms. In this study, cgi-miR-2d, an invertebrate-specific miRNA in oyster Crassostrea gigas, is proved to repress the synthesis/release of ACh by targeting CgCTL1 and choline uptake in haemocytes during the early stage of pathogen infection. In short, an opposite expression pattern between CgCTL1 and cgi-miR-2d is observed during Vibrio splendidus infection, accompanied by changes in haemolymph ACh. In addition, the expression level of CgCTL1 is found to be significantly repressed after cgi-miR-2d overexpression in vivo, while both haemocyte choline and haemolymph ACh are also decreased simultaneously, similar to the finding in CgCTL1 knock-down assay. As a result, the expression of two tumour necrosis factor-like proteins and the bacteriostatic activity of oyster haemocytes are found to be altered significantly by either gain-of-function cgi-miR-2d or knock-down of CgCTL1. To our knowledge, this is the first miRNA identified in invertebrates that can target the ancient cholinergic system and augment immune response during infection.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mariculture and Stock enhancement in North China's Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China wanglingling@dlou.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1049-9170
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China Key Laboratory of Mariculture and Stock enhancement in North China's Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Linsheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000818:Animals; D049896:Crassostrea / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; C065637:choline transporter; D000109:Acetylcholine
keywords: acetylcholine; choline transporter-like protein; cholinergic system; immunomodulation; miR-2 family; miRNA