MicroRNA Transcriptome Profiling in Heart of Trypanosoma cruzi-Infected Mice: Parasitological and Cardiological Outcomes

• Published in: PLoS neglected tropical diseases Vol. 9; no. 6; p. e0003828
• Main Authors: Navarro, Isabela Cunha, Ferreira, Frederico Moraes, Nakaya, Helder I., Baron, Monique Andrade, Vilar-Pereira, Gláucia, Pereira, Isabela Resende, Silva, Ana Maria Gonçalves, Real, Juliana Monte, De Brito, Thales, Chevillard, Christophe, Lannes-Vieira, Joseli, Kalil, Jorge, Cunha-Neto, Edecio, Ferreira, Ludmila Rodrigues Pinto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 18.06.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Cardiac arrhythmia; Cardiovascular disease; Chagas Cardiomyopathy - metabolism; Chagas Cardiomyopathy - pathology; Electrocardiography; Female; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Heart; Heart - physiopathology; Infections; Life Sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microbiology and Parasitology; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - metabolism; Myocardium - metabolism; Parasites; Pathogenesis; Potassium; Principal Component Analysis; Protozoa; Signal Transduction - genetics; Signal Transduction - physiology; Studies; Transcriptome - genetics; Trypanosoma cruzi; MORTALITY; CHRONIC PHASE; AMERICAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS; ABNORMALITIES; PARASITE LOAD; CARDIOMYOPATHY; CHRONIC CHAGAS-DISEASE; GENE-EXPRESSION; DYSFUNCTION; PARAMETERS
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003828
• ISSN: 1935-2735; 1935-2727

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and it begins with a short acute phase characterized by high parasitemia followed by a life-long chronic phase with scarce parasitism. Cardiac involvement is the most prominent manifestation, as 30% of infected subjects will develop abnormal ventricular repolarization with myocarditis, fibrosis and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by undefined mechanisms. Nevertheless, follow-up studies in chagasic patients, as well as studies with murine models, suggest that the intensity of clinical symptoms and pathophysiological events that occur during the acute phase of disease are associated with the severity of cardiac disease observed during the chronic phase. In the present study we investigated the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the disease progression in response to T. cruzi infection, as alterations in miRNA levels are known to be associated with many cardiovascular disorders. We screened 641 rodent miRNAs in heart samples of mice during an acute infection with the Colombiana T.cruzi strain and identified multiple miRNAs significantly altered upon infection. Seventeen miRNAs were found significantly deregulated in all three analyzed time points post infection. Among these, six miRNAs had their expression correlated with clinical parameters relevant to the disease, such as parasitemia and maximal heart rate-corrected QT (QTc) interval. Computational analyses identified that the gene targets for these six miRNAs were involved in networks and signaling pathways related to increased ventricular depolarization and repolarization times, important factors for QTc interval prolongation. The data presented here will guide further studies about the contribution of microRNAs to Chagas heart disease pathogenesis.