Regulation Mechanism of miR-23a in Oreochromis mossambicus During Aeromonas hydrophila Infection

Abstract

This study used Aeromonas hydrophila infection and culture of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) renal cells to analyze the time dependent expression of miR-23a in tilapia renal cells infected with A. hydrophila. The current results showed that the expression of miR-23a changed significantly at different time points of infection. Using RNAhybrid software to predict the target site of miR-23a and construct a plasmid, the binding ability of the target gene 3`-UTR to miR-23a was verified through dual luciferase reporter gene assay. We found that target genes were reverse regulated, and tbk1, glut1 were identified as miR-23a target genes. Expression of ldha, ldhba, pdha 1a and pdha 1b was suppressed after overexpression of miR-23a. These results indicated that miR-23a was involved in the regulation of the immune response in tilapia kidney cells after A. hydrophila infection. tbk1 and glut1 are the target genes of miR-23a that can affect the expression of downstream genes by targeting GLUT1. The above results provide important insights into the role of miR-23a in regulating the immune response in bony fish and further understanding of miRNA-mediated multiple target genes to regulate innate immunity in fish.