miR‐252 of the Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus regulates dengue virus replication by suppressing the expression of the dengue virus envelope protein

Abstract

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus isa major vector of dengue in mainland China. Dengue epidemics have spread from the southern coastal regions to the relatively northern and western regions since 1990s. Dengue has become an emerging public health problem in the southern coastal regions. microRNAs(miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post transcription allevel. A highly abundant miRNA, miR-252, was induced more than threefold after dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) infection in the Ae. albopictus C6/36 cellline. Transfection with miR-252 inhibitor resulted in the increase of DENV-2 RNA copies and the up-regulation of DENV-2 envelop protein(E protein) expression, whereas over expression of miR-252 with its mimic decreased DENV RNA copies and the down-regulation of E protein expression. MiR-252 mimic reduced luciferase activity of a luciferase reporter that contained the predicted miR-252 target on the DENV-2 envelope gene sequence. The present results indicated that the miR-252 of Ae. albopictus could regulate the gene expression of DENV-2 E protein and may act asa cellular antiviral regulator in Ae. albopictus.

Association of microRNAs with Argonaute proteins in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae after blood ingestion

“…Also, miR-281 and miR-252 in Ae . albopictus have been shown to influence dengue virus replication 46, 47 . A recent study has suggested that miR-305 suppresses the immune response in An .…”

Infections of virulent and avirulent viruses differentially influenced the expression of dicer-1, ago-1, and microRNAs in Bombus terrestris

“…This could suggest that the direct host miRNA-virus interplay might also play a role in bumblebee-SBPV/IAPV interaction. Intriguingly, a homolog of bte-miR-252a downregulated by SBPV, was shown to have a direct interaction with dengue virus (DENV) via targeting the DENV E protein transmembrane region21. Through RNAhybrid and RNA22, we also predicted that bte-miR-252a could possibly target the 3′UTR of SBPV (Table 3).…”

The microbiome modulates arbovirus transmission in mosquitoes

“…Wolbachia has also been found to express miRNAs that manipulate mosquito gene expression [44]. Host derived miRNA can influence viral dynamics in A. albopictus [59]. However, it is unknown if gut bacteria influence mosquito miRNA expression, but insights from mammalian models suggest the microbiota has the capacity to modulate host miRNA levels [60].…”