Influència de miRNAs de virus sobre la susceptibilitat a esclerosi múltiple

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune and inflammatory demyelinating disease affecting the central nervous system and the second most common cause of neurological dysfunction in young adults. It is known that the susceptibility to MS is regulated by a set of genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors, although the mechanisms by which they act remain unknown. In this study, we have investigated the relationship between one of the environmental risk factors in MS, Epstein Barr virus (EBV), which infects between 90 and 95% of the world population, and an epigenetic factor such as The microRNAs (miRNAs). The miRNAs are small molecules of non-coding RNA that participate in the regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. It is currently known that EBV has in its genome coding genes for its own miRNAs, which modify some cellular mechanisms of the host to carry out its viral cycle. OBJECTIVE: Many studies have investigated the regulatory role of miRNAs in the development of MS. The aim of this project was to relate the expression of certain EBV miRNAs to the presence of the disease. METHODS: Plasma and leukocyte buffy coat samples were collected from a total of 76 MS patients from the unitof Neurimmunology and multiple sclerosis of the Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital and from a set of patients as controls. The miRNAs were extracted with the mirVanaTM PARISTM RNA miRNA extraction kit. The miRNAs have been retrotranscribed and pre-amplified to be detected and quantified in a qRT-PCR. RESULTS: To carry out the study, eight EBV miRNAs were selected from the 44 totals. In the analysis of these 8 only one of them, the EBV-miRBART22, presented expression in 100% of buffy coat samples and in 96.96% of plasma samples. The study of differential expression of EBV-miRBART22 between control patients and MS patients showed no significant differences. The biochemical and genetic variables analyzed associated with the development of MS are more present in MS patients than in controls. The expression of EBV-miRBART22 has shown a tendency to be significant among smokers (p=0.059), where higher levels of EBV-miRBART22 (p = 0.010) were observed in women smokers. CONCLUSIONS: These results establish that EBV-miR-BART22 is overexpressed in female smokers