Zhong Sheng, Naqvi Afsar, Bair Eric, Nares Salvador, Khan Asma A
Endodontic Associates, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Endodontics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
J Endod. 2017 Jan;43(1):84-89. doi: 10.1016/j.joen.2016.10.006. Epub 2016 Dec 6.
MicroRNAs (miRs) are a family of noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression. They are ubiquitous among multicellular eukaryotes and are also encoded by some viruses. Upon infection, viral miRs (vmiRs) can potentially target gene expression in the host and alter the immune response. Although prior studies have reported viral infections in human pulp, the role of vmiRs in pulpal disease is yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to examine the expression of vmiRs in normal and diseased pulps and to identify potential target genes.
Total RNA was extracted and quantified from normal and inflamed human pulps (N = 28). Expression profiles of vmiRs were then interrogated using miRNA microarrays (V3) and the miRNA Complete Labeling and Hyb Kit (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA). To identify vmiRs that were differentially expressed, we applied a permutation test.
Of the 12 vmiRs detected in the pulp, 4 vmiRs (including those from herpesvirus and human cytomegalovirus) were differentially expressed in inflamed pulp compared with normal pulp (P < .05). Using bioinformatics, we identified potential target genes for the differentially expressed vmiRs. They included key mediators involved in the detection of microbial ligands, chemotaxis, proteolysis, cytokines, and signal transduction molecules.
These data suggest that miRs may play a role in interspecies regulation of pulpal health and disease. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which vmiRs can potentially modulate the host response in pulpal disease.
微小RNA（miR）是一类调控基因表达的非编码RNA。它们在多细胞真核生物中普遍存在，一些病毒也可编码。感染时，病毒微小RNA（vmiR）可能靶向宿主中的基因表达并改变免疫反应。尽管先前的研究报道了人类牙髓中的病毒感染，但vmiR在牙髓疾病中的作用尚待探索。本研究的目的是检测正常和患病牙髓中vmiR的表达，并鉴定潜在的靶基因。
从正常和发炎的人类牙髓中提取并定量总RNA（N = 28）。然后使用miRNA微阵列（V3）和miRNA完全标记与杂交试剂盒（安捷伦科技公司，加利福尼亚州圣克拉拉）检测vmiR的表达谱。为了鉴定差异表达的vmiR，我们应用了置换检验。
在牙髓中检测到的12种vmiR中，与正常牙髓相比，4种vmiR（包括来自疱疹病毒和人巨细胞病毒的vmiR）在发炎牙髓中差异表达（P <.05）。通过生物信息学，我们鉴定了差异表达的vmiR的潜在靶基因。它们包括参与检测微生物配体、趋化作用、蛋白水解、细胞因子和信号转导分子的关键介质。
这些数据表明，miR可能在牙髓健康和疾病的种间调节中发挥作用。需要进一步研究以阐明vmiR在牙髓疾病中潜在调节宿主反应的机制。
