Expression Profiles of Plasma IFN Signaling-Related miRNAs (ISR-miRNAs) at the Acute and Recovery Phase of COVID-19

Abstract

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought major harm and challenges to the world. Although many studies have suggested that IFN-I could affect the life cycle of the virus by regulating the expression level of microRNAs, the expression characteristics of plasma IFN-I signaling-related miRNAs at the acute and recovery phase of COVID-19 remain unclear.MethodsDemographic characteristics and fasting blood samples were collected from the acute and recovery phases of 29 COVID-19 patients and 29 healthy controls matched by age (± 5years) and gender (1:1). Expression levels of 12 IFN signaling-related miRNAs were analyzed using RT-qPCR. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) IgG antibody in the convalescent plasma samples was detected using competitive ELISA.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, patients with COVID-19 presented increased levels of miR-29b-3p (~ 5.91-fold), miR-497-5p (~ 2.28-fold), and miR-1246 (~ 7.97-fold), and decreased expression levels of miR-186-5p (~ 6.39-fold) and miR-15a-5p (~ 3.26-fold) at the acute phase of infection. However, the expression levels of miR-29b-3p and miR-1246, which significantly elevated at the acute phase, were not different between individuals at the recovery phase and healthy controls. The expression levels of miR-30b-5p, miR-497-5p, miR-409-3p and miR-548c-5p in convalescent plasma samples were significantly lower than those in healthy controls. However, the concentration of miR-186-5p in the convalescent plasma samples was significantly higher than that in healthy controls and patients with acute infection. Furthermore, competitive ELISA results showed that the plasma level of miR-497-5p at the acute phase positively correlated with RBD-IgG antibody response (r=0.48, P=0.038).ConclusionsThe present study firstly reported that timely and appropriate regulation of IFN signaling-related miRNA expression plays a critical role during both acute and recovery phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, the circulating miR-497-5p level was positively correlated to RBD-IgG antibody response in COVID-19 patients.