Military Medical Research (Mar 2021)

Comprehensive circRNA-microRNA-mRNA network analysis revealed the novel regulatory mechanism of Trichosporon asahii infection

  • Ming-Wang Zhang,
  • Zhi-Hong Zhu,
  • Zhi-Kuan Xia,
  • Xin Yang,
  • Wan-Ting Luo,
  • Jun-Hong Ao,
  • Rong-Ya Yang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40779-021-00311-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Background Invasive Trichosporon asahii (T. asahii) infection frequently occurs with a high mortality in immunodeficient hosts, but the pathogenesis of T. asahii infection remains elusive. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of endogenous noncoding RNA that participate in various disease processes. However, the mechanism of circRNAs in T. asahii infection remains completely unknown. Methods RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to analyze the expression profiles of circRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and mRNAs in THP-1 cells infected with T. asahii or uninfected samples. Some of the RNA-seq results were verified by RT-qPCR. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were used to analyze the differentially expressed mRNAs. A circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was constructed and verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay and overexpression experiments. Results A total of 46 circRNAs, 412 mRNAs and 47 miRNAs were differentially expressed at 12 h after T. asahii infection. GO and KEGG analyses showed that the differentially expressed mRNAs were primarily linked to the leukocyte migration involved in the inflammatory response, the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and the TNF signaling pathway. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed with 5 differentially expressed circRNAs, 5 differentially expressed miRNAs and 42 differentially expressed mRNAs. Among them, hsa_circ_0065336 was found to indirectly regulate PTPN11 expression by sponging miR-505-3p. Conclusions These data revealed a comprehensive circRNA-associated ceRNA network during T. asahii infection, thus providing new insights into the pathogenesis of the T. asahii-host interactions.

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