Tang Xuelian, Fu Jinghua, Yao Ya, Xu Minjun
School of Biological Science and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, China.
College of Marine Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.
Fish Shellfish Immunol. 2023 Apr;135:108653. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2023.108653. Epub 2023 Mar 1.
Echinacea purpurea (Linn.) Moench (EP) is a globally popular herbal medicine, which showed effects on growth promotion, antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities in fish culture world widely. However, there are few studies about the effects on miRNAs by EP in fish. The hybrid snakehead fish (Channa maculate♀ × Channa argus ♂) was new important economic specie of freshwater aquaculture in China with high market value and demand while there were only a few reports about its miRNAs. To overview immune-related miRNAs of the hybrid snakehead fish and to further understand the immune regulating mechanism of EP, we herein constructed and analyzed three small RNA libraries of immune tissues including liver, spleen and head kidney of the fish with or without EP treatment via Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. Results showed that EP can affect the immune activities of fish by the miRNA-regulated ways. Totally, 67 (47 up and 20 down) miRNAs in liver, 138 (55 up and 83 down) miRNAs in spleen, and 251 (15 up and 236 down) miRNAs in spleen were detected, as well as 30, 60, 139 kinds of immune-related miRNAs belonging to 22, 35 and 66 families of the three tissues respectively. The expressions of 8 immune-related miRNA family members were found in all the three tissues, including miR-10, miR-133, miR-22 and etc. Some miRNAs have been identified involved in the innate and adaptive immune responses, such as the miR-125, miR-138, and miR-181 family. Ten miRNA families with antioxidant target genes were also discovered, including miR-125, miR-1306, and miR-138, etc. Results from Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis further confirmed there are a majority immune response targets of the miRNAs involved in the EP treatment process. Our study deepened understanding roles of miRNAs in fish immune system and provides new ideas for the study of immune mechanism of EP.
紫锥菊（Echinacea purpurea (Linn.) Moench，简称EP）是一种全球流行的草药，在鱼类养殖中广泛显示出促进生长、抗氧化和免疫调节活性。然而，关于EP对鱼类miRNA影响的研究较少。杂交鳢（斑鳢♀×乌鳢♂）是中国淡水养殖中一种新兴的重要经济品种，具有较高的市场价值和需求，但关于其miRNA的报道较少。为了概述杂交鳢与免疫相关的miRNA，并进一步了解EP的免疫调节机制，我们通过Illumina高通量测序技术构建并分析了经或未经EP处理的该鱼类肝脏、脾脏和头肾这三种免疫组织的小RNA文库。结果表明，EP可通过miRNA调控的方式影响鱼类的免疫活动。共检测到肝脏中67个（47个上调和20个下调）miRNA、脾脏中138个（55个上调和83个下调）miRNA以及头肾中251个（15个上调和236个下调）miRNA，同时在这三种组织中分别发现了属于22、35和66个家族的30、60、139种与免疫相关的miRNA。在所有三种组织中均发现了8个与免疫相关的miRNA家族成员的表达，包括miR - 10、miR - 133、miR - 22等。已鉴定出一些参与先天性和适应性免疫反应的miRNA，如miR - 125、miR - 138和miR - 181家族。还发现了10个具有抗氧化靶基因的miRNA家族，包括miR - 125、miR - 1306和miR - 138等。基因本体论（GO）和KEGG通路分析结果进一步证实，在EP处理过程中，miRNA的大多数免疫反应靶标参与其中。我们的研究加深了对miRNA在鱼类免疫系统中作用的理解，并为EP免疫机制的研究提供了新思路。
