MicroRNA expression profiling in the lungs of genetically different Ri chicken lines against the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus

Abstract

The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus triggers infectious diseases, resulting in pulmonary damage and high mortality in domestic poultry worldwide. This study aimed to analyze miRNA expression profiles after infection with the HPAI H5N1 virus in resistant and susceptible lines of Ri chickens.For this purpose, resistant and susceptible lines of Vietnamese Ri chicken were used based on the A/G allele of Mx and BF2 genes. These genes are responsible for innate antiviral activity and were selected to determine differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs in HPAI-infected chicken lines using small RNA sequencing.A total of 44 miRNAs were differentially expressed after 3 days of infection with the H5N1 virus.Computational program analysis indicated the candidate target genes for differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs to possess significant functions related to cytokines, chemokines, MAPK signaling pathway, ErBb signaling pathway, and Wnt signaling pathway. Several DE miRNA-mRNA matches were suggested to play crucial roles in mediating immune functions against viral evasion. These results revealed the potential regulatory roles of miRNAs in the immune response of the two Ri chicken lines against HPAI H5N1 virus infection in the lungs.

Analysis of miRNA expression in the trachea of Ri chicken infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus

“…Gga-miR-7b was up-regulated in lung, spleen, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius from H5N1-infected chickens as up-regulated in RD3I samples compared with SD3I samples [ 11 12 ]. Few miRNAs such as gga-miR-216b, gga-miR-29b-3p, and miR-7 were also down-regulated in infection group compared with control group in lung [ 12 ], but were not significantly expressed in our experiment [ 10 ]. Furthermore, target genes of down-regulated miRNAs in lung were also enriched in MAPK signaling pathway as KEGG pathway analysis result in this study [ 12 ].…”

“…Several studies have performed small RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in lung and immune organs such as the thymus, bursa of Fabricius, and spleen of H5N1-infected chickens [ 10 11 12 ]. Moreover, we previously conducted RNA-seq analyses of lung and trachea tissues of H5N1-infected Ri chicken [ 13 14 ].…”