High-throughput characterization of Echinococcus spp. metacestode miRNomes

CUCHER M; MACCHIAROLI N; KAMENETZKY L; MALDONADO L; BREHM K; ROSENZVIT M C

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 45 p. 253 - 267

0020-7519

Abstract: Echinococcosis is a worldwide zoonosis of great public health concern, considered a neglected disease by the WHO. The cestode parasites Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s. l.) and Echinococcus multilocularis are the main aetiological agents. In the intermediate host, these parasites display particular developmental traits that lead to different patterns of disease progression. In an attempt to understand the causes of these differences, we focused on the analysis of microRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding regulatory RNAs with major roles in development of animals and plants. In this work, we analyzed the small RNAs expression pattern of the metacestode, the stage of sanitary relevance, and provide a detailed description of Echinococcus miRNAs. Using high-throughput small RNA sequencing, we have carried out the first experimental identification of miRNAs in E. multilocularis and have expanded the Echinococcus miRNA catalog to 38 miRNA genes, including one miRNA only present in E. granulosus s. l. Our findings show that although both species share the top 5 highest expressed miRNAs, thirteen are differentially expressed which could be related to developmental differences. We also provide evidence that uridylation is the main miRNA processing mechanism in Echinococcus spp. Our results provide detailed information on Echinococcus miRNAs which is the first step to understand their role on parasite biology and disease establishment and/or progression and their future potential use as drug or diagnosis targets.