Differential expression of miRNAs by macrophages infected with virulent and avirulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs which post-transcriptionally regulate a wide range of biological processes that include cellular differentiation, development, immunity and apoptosis. There is a growing body of evidences that bacteria modulate immune responses by altering the expression of host miRNAs. Since macrophages are immune cells associated with innate and adaptive immunity, we investigated whether Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection affects miRNAs of macrophages. THP-1 macrophages infected with virulent (H37Rv) and avirulent (H37Ra) strains of M. tuberculosis were analyzed for changes in miRNAs' expression using microarray. This revealed that nine miRNA genes (miR-30a, miR-30e, miR-155, miR-1275, miR-3665, miR-3178, miR-4484, miR-4668-5p and miR-4497) were differentially expressed between THP-1cells infected with M. tuberculosis H37Rv and M. tuberculosis H37Ra strains. Additional characterization of these genes is likely to provide insights into their role in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.