Identification and profiling of microRNAs responsive to cadmium toxicity in hepatopancreas of the freshwater crab Sinopotamon henanense

Abstract

BackgroundCadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous environmental toxicant for aquatic animals. The freshwater crab, Sinopotamon henanense (S. henanense), is a useful model for monitoring Cd exposure since it is widely distributed in sediments whereby it tends to accumulate several toxicants, including Cd. In the recent years, the toxic effects of Cd in the hepatopancreas of S. henanense have been demonstrated by a series of biochemical analysis and ultrastructural observations as well as the deep sequencing approaches and gene expression profile analysis. However, the post-transcriptional regulatory network underlying Cd toxicity in S.henanense is still largely unknown.ResultsThe miRNA transcriptional profile of the hepatopancreas of S. henanense was used to investigate the expression levels of miRNAs in response to Cd toxicity. In total, 464 known miRNAs and 191 novel miRNAs were identified. Among these 656 miRNAs, 126 known miRNAs could be matched with the miRNAs of Portunus trituberculatus, Eriocheir sinensis and Scylla paramamosain. Furthermore, a total of 24 conserved miRNAs were detected in these four crab species. Fifty-one differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in the Cd-exposed group, with 31 up-regulated and 20 down-regulated. Eight of the differentially expressed miRNAs were randomly selected and verified by the quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and there was a general consistency (87.25%) between the qRT-PCR and miRNA transcriptome data. A total of 5258 target genes were screened by bioinformatics prediction. GO term analysis showed that, 17 GO terms were significantly enriched, which were mainly related to the regulation of oxidoreductase activity. KEGG pathway analysis showed that 18 pathways were significantly enriched, which were mainly associated with the biosynthesis, modification and degradation of proteins.ConclusionIn response to Cd toxicity, in the hepatopancreas of S. henanense, the expressions of significant amount of miRNAs were altered, which may be an adaptation to resist the oxidative stress induced by Cd. These results provide a basis for further studies of miRNA-mediated functional adaptation of the animal to combat Cd toxicity.

Differential expression of miRNAs in the body wall of the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus under heat stress

“…MiR-184 has been reported to be related to the infection of Procambarus clarkii by Spiroplasma eriocheiris ( Ou et al, 2013 ). Xu et al (2019) found that miR-184 of Sinopotamon henanense was significantly upregulated in response to oxidative stress induced by cadmium (Cd). MiR-193 has been reported to be related to Bos taurus infection ( Shi et al, 2014 ).…”

Cadmium-induced Alterations in the Expression Profile of MicroRNAs: A Comprehensive Review

“…Another study analyzed the transcriptional profile of miRNAs in freshwater crayfish to assess their expression levels in response to Cd (0.5 mg/L Cd for 30 days) toxicity. 88 Overall, this study identified 51 miR-NAs with altered expression, of which 31 and 20 miRNAs were identified with increased and decreased expression, respectively. Moreover, gene ontology analysis of target genes demonstrated the importance of regulating the activity of oxidoreductases.…”

“…43 In the field of investigating miRNA expression changes after Cd exposure, several studies have been reported on all types of life, including plants and animals, and even human studies, which have been comprehensively tabulated (Tables 1-3). [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] As the data show, most studies were conducted with cancer and diabetes cell lines and with people occupationally exposed to heavy metals.…”

Cadmium: A Focus on the Brown Crab (Cancer pagurus) Industry and Potential Human Health Risks

“…However, some species of crab may adopt mechanisms to mitigate cadmium toxicity. One study showed that the hepatopancreas of freshwater crabs ( Sinopotamon henanense ) altered the expression of a considerable amount of miRNAs in response to acute and subchronic cadmium exposure, which is thought to be an adaptive mechanism to prevent oxidative stress [ 88 ].…”