Genome-wide identification of chicken bursae of Fabricius miRNAs in response to very virulent infectious bursal disease virus

Abstract

Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) can cause a highly contagious immunosuppressive disease in young chickens, resulting in considerable economic losses to the poultry industry. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial regulators of gene expression and are involved in the pathogenesis of IBDV infection. To investigate the roles of miRNA in chicken bursae of Fabricius in response to very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) infection, RNA sequencing was performed. For this, we established an IBDV infection model as observed using histopathology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), viral load detection, and cytokine expression levels. In total, 77 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were identified, of which 42 were upregulated and 35 were downregulated. A gene ontology analysis showed that genes associated with cellular processes, cells, and binding were enriched, and pathway analyses suggested that axon guidance, tight junctions, and endocytosis may be activated following vvIBDV infection. Moreover, we predicted the target genes of DE miRNAs and constructed an miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. In total, 189 pairs of miRNA-target genes were identified, comprising 67 DE miRNAs and 73 mRNAs. In this network, gga-miR-1684b-3p was identified with the highest fold change, and gga-miR-1788-3p and gga-miR-3530-5p showed a high degree of change, suggesting that they play vital roles in vvIBDV-host interactions. This study is the first to perform a comprehensive analysis of DE miRNAs in the bursa of Fabricius in response to vvIBDV infection, and it provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying vvIBDV infection and pathogenesis. KeywordsInfectious bursal disease virus; Chicken; Bursae of Fabricius; miRNA; RNA sequencing Abbreviations: vvIBDV, very virulent infectious bursal disease virus; BF, bursa of Fabricius; miRNA, microRNA; TEM, transmission electron microscopy; DE, differentially expressed; TEM, transmission electron microscopy; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; GO, gene ontology; KEGG, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.

miRNA Expression Signatures Induced by Chicken Astrovirus Infection in Chickens

“…In contrast, miR-3536 expression was significantly higher in Marek's disease virus-transformed T cell lines compared to control lines [34]. Expression of miR-3536 was strongly upregulated in bursae of Fabricius of chickens infected with very virulent infectious bursal disease virus [35].…”

Host Combats IBDV Infection at Both Protein and RNA Levels

“…In a recent study, it was found that a total of 1710 miRNAs were identified in vvIBDV-infected BF tissues and mock-infected controls, and there were 42 miRNAs with upregulated expression and 35 miRNAs with downregulated expression. miR-1684b-3p, gga-miR-1788-3p, and gga-miR-3530-5p had especially significantly varied expression levels following IBDV infection, with their potential target genes, including THBS1, STAT1, STAT3, and MYD88 [ 117 ]. These predicted results suggest that these gga-miRs might play a role in apoptosis, inflammation, and the IFN response, but further evidence will be required to determine the exact role of these miRNAs in the host response to IBDV infection.…”

The long noncoding RNA loc107053557 acts as a gga-miR-3530-5p sponge to suppress the replication of vvIBDV through regulating STAT1 expression

“…For example, the lncRNA CHRF can bind miR-489 to regulate cardiac hypertrophy [ 35 ]. A number of studies have indicated that a single lncRNA or miRNA can effectively affect IBDV replication by regulating key gene expression in the IFN-I or JAK-STAT signalling pathways [ 27 , 33 , 36 , 37 ]. However, it is not yet clear whether lncRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of IBDV infection, serving as ceRNAs.…”