Fasciola hepatica hijacks host macrophage miRNA machinery to modulate early innate immune responses

Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 24;11(1):6712. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86125-1.

Abstract

Fasciola hepatica, a global worm parasite of humans and their livestock, regulates host innate immune responses within hours of infection. Host macrophages, essential to the first-line defence mechanisms, are quickly restricted in their ability to initiate a classic protective pro-inflammatory immune response. We found that macrophages from infected animals are enriched with parasite-derived micro(mi)RNAs. The most abundant of these miRNAs, fhe-miR-125b, is released by the parasite via exosomes and is homologous to a mammalian miRNA, hsa-miR-125b, that is known to regulate the activation of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages. We show that the parasite fhe-miR-125b loads onto the mammalian Argonaut protein (Ago-2) within macrophages during infection and, therefore, propose that it mimics host miR-125b to negatively regulate the production of inflammatory cytokines. The hijacking of the miRNA machinery controlling innate cell function could be a fundamental mechanism by which worm parasites disarm the early immune responses of their host to ensure successful infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Disease Susceptibility / immunology
  • Fasciola hepatica / physiology*
  • Fascioliasis / etiology*
  • Fascioliasis / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Host-Parasite Interactions* / genetics
  • Host-Parasite Interactions* / immunology
  • Immunity, Innate*
  • Macrophages / immunology*
  • Macrophages / metabolism
  • Macrophages / parasitology*
  • MicroRNAs / chemistry
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • RNA Interference
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • MicroRNAs