Institute of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
Institute of Medical Microbiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
PLoS One. 2019 Feb 13;14(2):e0212027. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212027. eCollection 2019.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) produces different microRNAs (miRNA) with distinct regulatory functions within the infectious cycle. These viral miRNAs regulate the expression of viral and host genes and have been discussed as potential diagnostic markers or even therapeutic targets, provided that the expression profile can be unambiguously correlated to a specific stage of infection or a specific EBV-induced disorder. In this context, miRNA profiling becomes more important since the roles of these miRNAs in the pathogenesis of infections and malignancies are not fully understood. Studies of EBV miRNA expression profiles are sparse and have mainly focused on associated malignancies. This study is the first to examine the miRNA profiles of EBV reactivation and to use a correction step with seronegative patients as a reference. Between 2012 and 2017, we examined the expression profiles of 11 selected EBV miRNAs in 129 whole blood samples from primary infection, reactivation, healthy carriers and EBV seronegative patients. Three of the miRNAs could not be detected in any sample. Other miRNAs showed significantly higher expression levels and prevalence during primary infection than in other stages; miR-BHRF1-1 was the most abundant. The expression profiles from reactivation differed slightly but not significantly from those of healthy carriers, but a specific marker miRNA for each stage could not be identified within the selected EBV miRNA targets.
EB 病毒（EBV）在感染周期内产生具有不同调节功能的不同 microRNA（miRNA）。这些病毒 miRNA 调节病毒和宿主基因的表达，并被认为是潜在的诊断标志物，甚至是治疗靶点，只要表达谱可以明确与感染的特定阶段或特定 EBV 诱导的疾病相关。在这种情况下，miRNA 分析变得更加重要，因为这些 miRNA 在感染和恶性肿瘤发病机制中的作用尚未完全阐明。EBV miRNA 表达谱的研究很少，主要集中在相关恶性肿瘤上。本研究首次检查了 EBV 再激活的 miRNA 谱，并使用血清阴性患者的校正步骤作为参考。在 2012 年至 2017 年间，我们检查了 129 份来自原发性感染、再激活、健康携带者和 EBV 血清阴性患者的全血样本中 11 种选定 EBV miRNA 的表达谱。其中三种 miRNA 在任何样本中均无法检测到。其他 miRNA 在原发性感染期间的表达水平和流行率明显高于其他阶段；miR-BHRF1-1 是最丰富的。再激活的表达谱与健康携带者的表达谱略有不同，但在选定的 EBV miRNA 靶标中未鉴定出每个阶段的特异性标记 miRNA。
