The Roles of MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in Avian Response to Viral Infection and Pathogenesis of Avian Immunosuppressive Diseases.

Linyi Zhou,Shijun J Zheng

doi:10.3390/ijms20215454

Linyi Zhou, Shijun J Zheng

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215454

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding small RNAs that play important roles in the regulation of various biological processes including cell development and differentiation, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, immunoregulation and viral infections. Avian immunosuppressive diseases refer to those avian diseases caused by pathogens that target and damage the immune organs or cells of the host, increasing susceptibility to other microbial infections and the risk of failure in subsequent vaccination against other diseases. As such, once a disease with an immunosuppressive feature occurs in flocks, it would be difficult for the stakeholders to have an optimal economic income. Infectious bursal disease (IBD), avian leukemia (AL), Marek’s disease (MD), chicken infectious anemia (CIA), reticuloendotheliosis (RE) and avian reovirus infection are on the top list of commonly-seen avian diseases with a feature of immunosuppression, posing an unmeasurable threat to the poultry industry across the globe. Understanding the pathogenesis of avian immunosuppressive disease is the basis for disease prevention and control. miRNAs have been shown to be involved in host response to pathogenic infections in chickens, including regulation of immunity, tumorigenesis, cell proliferation and viral replication. Here we summarize current knowledge on the roles of miRNAs in avian response to viral infection and pathogenesis of avian immunosuppressive diseases, in particular, MD, AL, IBD and RE.

Highlights

MicroRNAs are a class of non-coding single-stranded RNA molecules encoded by endogenous genes of approximately 20 to 24 nucleotide in length [1]
Transcriptome analysis of avian leukosis virus (ALV)-J infected chicken primary monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) revealed some differentially expressed miRNAs associated with host antiviral responses [62] and it was reported that 167 miRNAs were differentially expressed in the spleen of ALV-J-infected chickens compared to that of uninfected controls [63]
Lines of evidence indicate that miRNAs play important roles in the pathogenesis of the avian immunosuppressive disease

Summary

Introduction

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding single-stranded RNA molecules encoded by endogenous genes of approximately 20 to 24 nucleotide (nt) in length [1]. More virus-encoded miRNAs were found in the MDV-1 induced lymphoma cell line MSB-1, and currently, 14 precursor sequences in the MDV-1 genome that produce 26 mature miRNAs have been recorded [19]. These precursor sequences can be divided into three clusters according to their positions on the MDV-1 genome, which are Meq-cluster (including miR-M2, miR-M3, miR-M4, miR-M5, miR-M9 and miR-M12), Mid-cluster (including miR-M1, miR-M11 and miR-M31) and latent-related transcribed region (LAT)-cluster (including miR-M6, miR-M7, miR-M8, miR-M10 and miR-M13) [20]. The detailed information is still lacking in terms of the relation of MDV serotypes to MDV-encoded miRNAs

The Role of MDV1-Encoded miRNAs in MD

The Role of Cellular miRNAs in MD

The Role of Cellular miRNAs in AL

The Role of miRNA in the Control of IBDV

Findings

Conclusions