Plasmodium falciparum infection reshapes the human microRNA profiles of red blood cells and their extracellular vesicles

Yifan Wu; Stephanie Leyk; Hanifeh Torabi; Katharina Höhn; Barbara Honecker; Maria Del Pilar Martinez Tauler; Dániel Cadar; Thomas Jacobs; Iris Bruchhaus; Nahla Galal Metwally

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107119

Plasmodium falciparum infection reshapes the human microRNA profiles of red blood cells and their extracellular vesicles

iScience. 2023 Jun 15;26(7):107119. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107119. eCollection 2023 Jul 21.

Affiliations

¹ Research Group Host Parasite Interaction, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
² Research Group Protozoa Immunology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
³ Cellular Parasitology Department, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
⁴ Arbovirology Department, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
⁵ Biology Department University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum, a human malaria parasite, develops in red blood cells (RBCs), which represent approximately 70% of all human blood cells. Additionally, RBC-derived extracellular vesicles (RBC-EVs) represent 7.3% of the total EV population. The roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the consequences of P. falciparum infection are unclear. Here, we analyzed the miRNA profiles of non-infected human RBCs (niRBCs), ring-infected RBCs (riRBCs), and trophozoite-infected RBCs (trRBCs), as well as those of EVs secreted from these cells. Hsa-miR-451a was the most abundant miRNA in all RBC and RBC-EV populations, but its expression level was not affected by P. falciparum infection. Overall, the miRNA profiles of RBCs and their EVs were altered significantly after infection. Most of the differentially expressed miRNAs were shared between RBCs and their EVs. A target prediction analysis of the miRNAs revealed the possible identity of the genes targeted by these miRNAs (CXCL10, OAS1, IL7, and CCL5) involved in immunomodulation.

Keywords: Cell biology; Parasitology.