The Specific microRNA Profile and Functional Networks for Children with Allergic Asthma

Xiyan Zhang; Xude Zhang; Shaojie Feng; Xijuan Wang; Beibei Guo; Jingjing Liu; Donghua Xu; Fengxia Liu

doi:10.2147/JAA.S378547

The Specific microRNA Profile and Functional Networks for Children with Allergic Asthma

J Asthma Allergy. 2022 Aug 29:15:1179-1194. doi: 10.2147/JAA.S378547. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiyan Zhang¹, Xude Zhang¹, Shaojie Feng¹, Xijuan Wang¹, Beibei Guo¹, Jingjing Liu¹, Donghua Xu^{2

3}, Fengxia Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Allergy, Weifang People's Hospital, Weifang, People's Republic of China.
² Clinical Medicine College, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Rheumatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical University, Weifang, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Background: Allergic asthma is the most common type of asthma and often occurs in early life with increasing comorbidities, including atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the pathogenesis of numerous immune and inflammatory disorders, particularly allergic inflammation. The specific miRNA profiles of children with allergic asthma have not been fully delineated and still require in-depth study.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the expression profile of miRNAs and constructed a network of the interactions between differentially expressed miRNAs and target mRNAs to provide novel insights into understanding the pathogenesis of allergic asthma.

Materials and methods: In this study, we performed high-throughput sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from children in the acute phase of asthma. Bioinformatics approaches, including miRanda, Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases, were employed to predict novel therapeutic and diagnostic targets for allergic asthma. Real-time quantitative PCR was conducted to detect the expression of aberrantly expressed miRNAs.

Results: One hundred and sixty-one differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in children with allergic asthma, including 140 conserved miRNAs and 21 novel miRNAs. A total of 8929 targeted mRNAs (44,186 transcripts) associated with differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted and significantly enriched in the cGMP-PKG signalling pathway, cholinergic synapse, and salivary secretion. We also found that miRNA-370-3p targeted PKG and MLCP molecules in the cGMP-PKG signalling pathway and was involved in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma.

Conclusion: We identified the miRNA profile of PBMCs in children with allergic asthma and also found that miRNA-370-3p targeted PKG and MLCP molecules in the cGMP-PKG signalling pathway, which provides a novel insight into understanding the pathogenesis of allergic asthma and investigating new targets for the treatment of allergic asthma in children.

Keywords: MicroRNAs; allergic asthma; children; house dust mite; inflammation.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation, China (82171790), and Science and Technology Development Program, Weifang, China (2020YX013).