Identification of host serum-responsive microRNAs in the infective larvae of Toxocara canis and their functional analysis(犬弓首蛔虫感染性幼虫宿主血清反应性微RNA的鉴定与功能分析)

• Published in: 浙江大学学报. 农业与生命科学版 Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 483 - 491
• Main Authors: 陈宜(CHEN Yi), 杨一帆(YANG Yifan), 陈学秋(CHEN Xueqiu), 熊志威(XIONG Zhiwei), 杨晨雨(YANG Chenyu), 杨怡(YANG Yi), 马光旭(MA Guangxu), 杜爱芳(DU Aifang)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Zhejiang University Press 01.06.2025
• Subjects: 微rna(microrna); 感染与免疫(infection and immune); 犬弓首蛔虫(toxocara canis); 致病(pathogenesis); 血清反应性(serum responsive)
• ISSN: 2097-5155
• DOI: 10.3785/j.issn.1008-9209.2023.12.184

Toxocariasis, a neglected parasitic zoonosis with a worldwide distribution, is caused mainly by the infective larvae of Toxocara canis and its migration in humans and animals. Focusing on tissue migration, we stimulated the infective larvae of T. canis with 5% serum from healthy mice to model the first step after infection within a host animal. Total RNA was extracted from treated and untreated larvae for small RNA sequencing, and after which the differential expression analysis and target gene prediction of microRNA (miRNA) were carried out. The results showed that a total of 972 miRNAs were identified in four treated and four untreated larval samples, with 15 miRNAs detected with significant transcriptional changes. The predicted target genes of 15 miRNAs were linked to biological processes, including host immune cell adhesion and migration and olfactory transduction pathway, suggesting a role in parasite-host interactions. In conclusion, a group of miRNAs in the infective larvae of T. canis are responsive to host serum, which lays a foundation for future studies of their roles in infecting host, immune modulation, and pathogenesis. . 弓首蛔虫病是一种被严重忽视的人畜共患寄生虫病，呈世界性分布，主要由弓首蛔虫的感染性幼虫在人及多种动物体内移行所致。本研究以犬弓首蛔虫组织移行的第1个环节“侵入宿主”为切入点，首先用5%健康小鼠血清体外刺激孵化的犬弓首蛔虫感染性幼虫，然后提取虫体样本的总RNA进行小RNA测序，最后开展处理组与未处理组的虫体微RNA（microRNA, miRNA）差异表达分析及靶基因预测。结果显示：在4个处理组样本和4个未处理组样本中共检测到972个miRNAs，其中血清刺激造成15个miRNAs的转录水平发生显著变化；靶基因预测发现，这些转录水平发生显著变化的miRNAs靶向宿主免疫细胞黏附与迁移、嗅觉转导等相关基因，在寄生虫与宿主互作中发挥作用。本研究鉴定到一组具有宿主血清反应性的犬弓首蛔虫感染性幼虫miRNAs，为其在感染宿主、免疫调控以及致病中的具体作用研究奠定了基础。