Abstract
Background
Systemic Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection alters microRNA’s expression that controls cellular processes and modulates host defense mechanisms. However, the role of miRNAs in intraocular tuberculosis (IOTB) remains unknown. Therefore, this study aims to identify dysregulated miRNAs in the aqueous humor (AH) of patients with IOTB.
Methods
AH from intraocular tuberculosis patients (n = 2) and cataract controls (n = 2) were used for small RNA deep sequencing using HiSeq Illumina sequencing platform. Differentially expressed miRNAs and their targets were identified by the bioinformatics approach, and their regulatory functions were predicted by pathway enrichment analysis. The expression of selected miRNAs and their binding targets were further validated by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR).
Results
In total, we identified 56 differentially expressed miRNAs in the AH of intraocular tuberculosis (IOTB) patients compared to controls. We selected four significantly dysregulated miRNAs (miR-423-5p, miR-328-3p, miR-21-5p, and miR-16-5p) based on the RT-qPCR validation and predicted their gene targets. We developed a miRNA-targets regulatory network by combining pathways of interest and genes associated with TB. We identified that these four miRNAs might play an important role in IOTB pathogenesis via tuberculosis-associated pathways; PI3K-Akt signaling, autophagy and MAPK pathway.
Conclusions
For the first time, this study identifies the dysregulation of four miRNAs in the AH of IOTB patients using the ultra-low input small-RNA sequencing approach. Further target prediction and validation identify the role of these miRNAs in tuberculosis pathogenesis via tuberculosis-related pathways. This study identifies miRNAs as potentially ideal biomarkers in the aqueous humor of IOTB patients.
Graphic abstract




Data availability
All data generated during this study are included in this article and its additional files.
Abbreviations
- AH:
-
Aqueous humor
- Mtb :
-
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- IOTB:
-
Intraocular tuberculosis
- PCR:
-
Polymerase chain reaction
- miRNA:
-
MicroRNA
- TB:
-
Tuberculosis
- HIV:
-
Human immunodeficiency virus
- LTB:
-
Latent tuberculosis
- NGS:
-
Next generation sequencing
- OTB:
-
Ocular tuberculosis
- PTB:
-
Pulmonary tuberculosis
- DNA:
-
Deoxyribonucleic acid
- CAT:
-
Cataract
- RNA:
-
Ribonucleic acid
- STAR:
-
Spliced transcripts alignment to a reference
- DAVID:
-
Database for annotation, visualization, and integrated discovery
- FDR:
-
False discovery rate
- P-value:
-
Calculated probability
- KEGG:
-
Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes
- cDNA:
-
Complementary DNA
- SRA:
-
Sequence read archive
- ATT:
-
Anti-tuberculosis therapy
- DE:
-
Differential expression
- TST:
-
Tuberculin skin test
- CT:
-
Computerized tomography
- MAPK9:
-
Mitogen-activated protein kinase 9
- VPS33A:
-
Vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 33A
- IL-1B:
-
Interleukin 1 beta
- CREB1:
-
Cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein 1
- CTSD:
-
Catepsin D
- CEBPB:
-
CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta
- RAB5B:
-
Ras-related protein Rab-5B
- SRC:
-
Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src
- APAF1:
-
Apoptotic protease- activating factor 1
- IRAK2:
-
Interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase-like 2
- MRC2:
-
Mannose receptor, C type 2
- CD209:
-
DC-SIGN
- ATP6VOD1:
-
V-ATPase
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Uvea Clinic, Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India, for the IOTB samples, and Dr. Madhu Shekar, Aravind Eye Hospital, for cataract control samples. We also thank Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India for funding support and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India for Senior Research Fellowship.
Funding
Department of Biotechnology, India (No: BT/PR20733/MED/29/1075/2016), Senior Research Fellow -Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India (Sanction letter No. 2019-4013/Gen-BMS dt.30.09.2019).
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Contributions
SC: Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing- Original draft preparation KK: NGS data analysis, Reviewing PL: Reviewing and Editing RS: Resources, Investigation, Reviewing and Editing BD: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing- Reviewing and Editing.
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All the authors declared that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India (IRB2017007BAS).
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11033_2021_6846_MOESM1_ESM.tif
Supplementary file1 (TIF 204 kb). Additional file 1: Supplementary Figure S1. The expression analysis of selected thirteen miRNAs in aqueous humor of IOTB patients (N=7) and Cataract controls (N=7) using RT-qPCR. Median values are showed in horizontal lines using a Mann-Whitney test. *P<0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P<0.001
11033_2021_6846_MOESM2_ESM.tif
Supplementary file2 (TIF 372 kb). Additional file 2: Supplementary Figure S2. The expression analysis of selected miRNA’s targets genes in aqueous humor of IOTB patients (N=5) and Cataract controls (N=6) using RT-qPCR. Median values are shown by horizontal lines using a Mann-Whitney test. *P<0.05, ** P<0.01
11033_2021_6846_MOESM3_ESM.docx
Supplementary file3 (DOCX 16 kb). Additional file 3: Supplementary Table S1. Patient details of Intraocular tuberculosis and Cataract controls
11033_2021_6846_MOESM5_ESM.docx
Supplementary file5 (DOCX 13 kb). Additional file 5: Supplementary Table S3. Summary statistics of small-RNA deep sequencing of two IOTB and cataract controls
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Chadalawada, S., Kathirvel, K., Lalitha, P. et al. Dysregulated expression of microRNAs in aqueous humor from intraocular tuberculosis patients. Mol Biol Rep 49, 97–107 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06846-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06846-4