Retroviral Genetics Division, Centre for Virus Research, Westmead Millennium Institute and Westmead Hospital, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Hunter Medical Research Institute, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
Virology. 2014 Feb;450-451:336-49. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2013.12.026. Epub 2014 Jan 14.
Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is common due to shared transmission routes. The genomic basis of HIV/HCV co-infection and its regulation by microRNA (miRNA) is unknown. Therefore, our objective was to investigate genome-wide mRNA expression and its regulation by miRNA in primary PBMCs derived from 27 patients (5 HCV - mono-infected, 5 HIV-mono-infected, 12 HCV/HIV co-infected, and 5 healthy controls). This revealed 27 miRNAs and 476 mRNAs as differentially expressed (DE) in HCV/HIV co-infection when compared to controls (adj p<0.05). Our study shows the first evidence of miRNAs specific for co-infection, several of which are correlated with key gene targets demonstrating functional relationships to pathways in cancer, immune-function, and metabolism. Notable was the up regulation of HCV-specific miR-122 in co-infection (FC>50, p=4.02E-06), which may have clinical/biological implications.
由于共同的传播途径，人类免疫缺陷病毒 (HIV) 和丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV) 的合并感染很常见。HIV/HCV 合并感染的基因组基础及其受 microRNA (miRNA) 的调控尚不清楚。因此，我们的目的是研究源自 27 名患者（5 名 HCV 单感染、5 名 HIV 单感染、12 名 HCV/HIV 合并感染和 5 名健康对照者）的原代 PBMC 中的全基因组 mRNA 表达及其 miRNA 调控。这揭示了与对照组相比，HCV/HIV 合并感染中有 27 个 miRNA 和 476 个 mRNA 表达差异（adj p<0.05）。本研究首次提供了 miRNA 特异性针对合并感染的证据，其中一些与关键基因靶标相关，这些靶标与癌症、免疫功能和代谢途径中的功能关系。值得注意的是，HCV 特异性 miR-122 在合并感染中上调（FC>50，p=4.02E-06），这可能具有临床/生物学意义。
