Dynamic expression of miR-132, miR-212, and miR-146 in the brain of different hosts infected with Angiostrongylus cantonensis.

Increasing evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of regulatory molecules involved in many physiological processes, including the inflammation in central nervous system (CNS) and neurological disorders. Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A. cantonensis) is the major cause of human infectious eosinophilic meningitis and can induce CNS injury. In the present study, we investigated the expression of miRNAs involved in neuronal functions such as miR-132-3p/212-3p, and miR-146a-5p, inflammation-related miRNA, in the modulation of inflammation of CNS of mice and rats induced by A. cantonensis. The functions of differentially expressed miRNAs were analyzed through bioinformatics methods, and the expression of chosen target genes were investigated by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that miR-146a-5p upregulated in the brain of rats after 21 days; A. cantonensis infection and the expression of miR-132-3p and miR-146a-5p upregulated in the brain of mice model infected by A. cantonensis. The expression of the target genes of mmu-miR-146a-5p such as Irak1 and Traf6 downregulated in 14 days and 21 days after A. cantonensis infection. Our results supply more information about the involvement of the miRNAs in the regulation of inflammation of CNS induced by A. cantonensis.