Bioinformatics Analysis Reveals Functions of MicroRNAs in Rice Under the Drought Stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 927-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Peng ◽  
Yuewu Liu ◽  
Xinbo Chen

Background: Drought is one of the most damaging and widespread abiotic stresses that can severely limit the rice production. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as a promising tool for improving the drought tolerance of rice and have become a hot spot in recent years. Objective: In order to further extend the understanding of miRNAs, the functions of miRNAs in rice under drought stress are analyzed by bioinformatics. Method: In this study, we integrated miRNAs and genes transcriptome data of rice under the drought stress. Some bioinformatics methods were used to reveal the functions of miRNAs in rice under drought stress. These methods included target genes identification, differentially expressed miRNAs screening, enrichment analysis of DEGs, network constructions for miRNA-target and target-target proteins interaction. Results: (1) A total of 229 miRNAs with differential expression in rice under the drought stress, corresponding to 73 rice miRNAs families, were identified. (2) 1035 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, which included 357 up-regulated genes, 542 down-regulated genes and 136 up/down-regulated genes. (3) The network of regulatory relationships between 73 rice miRNAs families and 1035 DEGs was constructed. (4) 25 UP_KEYWORDS terms of DEGs, 125 GO terms and 7 pathways were obtained. (5) The protein-protein interaction network of 1035 DEGs was constructed. Conclusion: (1) MiRNA-regulated targets in rice might mainly involve in a series of basic biological processes and pathways under drought conditions. (2) MiRNAs in rice might play critical roles in Lignin degradation and ABA biosynthesis. (3) MiRNAs in rice might play an important role in drought signal perceiving and transduction.

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 3580-3589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingyuan Li ◽  
Wulin Tan ◽  
Fang Ye ◽  
Faling Xue ◽  
Shaowei Gao ◽  
...  

Objective We aimed to explore potential microRNAs (miRNAs) and target genes related to atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods Data for microarrays GSE70887 and GSE68475, both of which include AF and control groups, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed miRNAs between AF and control groups were identified within each microarray, and the intersection of these two sets was obtained. These miRNAs were mapped to target genes in the miRNet database. Functional annotation and enrichment analysis of these target genes was performed in the DAVID database. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network from the STRING database and the miRNA-target-gene network were merged into a PPI-miRNA network using Cytoscape software. Modules of this network containing miRNAs were detected and further analyzed. Results Ten differentially expressed miRNAs and 1520 target genes were identified. Three PPI-miRNA modules were constructed, which contained miR-424, miR-15a, miR-542-3p, and miR-421 as well as their target genes, CDK1, CDK6, and CCND3. Conclusion The identified miRNAs and genes may be related to the pathogenesis of AF. Thus, they may be potential biomarkers for diagnosis and targets for treatment of AF.


Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 417
Author(s):  
Chuanxi Peng ◽  
Xing Wang ◽  
Tianyu Feng ◽  
Rui He ◽  
Mingcai Zhang ◽  
...  

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), the post-transcriptional gene regulators, are known to play an important role in plant development. The identification of differentially expressed miRNAs could better help us understand the post-transcriptional regulation that occurs during maize internode elongation. Accordingly, we compared the expression of MIRNAs between fixed internode and elongation internode samples and classified six differentially expressed MIRNAs as internode elongation-responsive miRNAs including zma-MIR160c, zma-MIR164b, zma-MIR164c, zma-MIR168a, zma-MIR396f, and zma-MIR398b, which target mRNAs supported by transcriptome sequencing. Functional enrichment analysis for predictive target genes showed that these miRNAs were involved in the development of internode elongation by regulating the genes respond to hormone signaling. To further reveal how miRNA affects internode elongation by affecting target genes, the miRNA–mRNA–PPI (protein and protein interaction) network was constructed to summarize the interaction of miRNAs and these target genes. Our results indicate that miRNAs regulate internode elongation in maize by targeting genes related to cell expansion, cell wall synthesis, transcription, and regulatory factors.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangyeob Lee ◽  
Jun-Il Yoo

Abstract Background: Sarcopenia is an age-related disease with skeletal muscle loss, weakness, and functional impairment. The potential causes of sarcopenia including the programmed cell death of muscles, inflammation, reactive oxygen species, protein turnover, and mitochondrial dysfunction have been studied. The purpose of this study was to find differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) in the muscle samples of older people (GSE23527). In addition, we performed to identify new miRNA-mRNA regulatory network for treating sarcopeniaMethods: Gene expression profiles were obtained from microarray datasets (GSE8479 and GSE1428) of the vastus lateralis muscles of young and older male subjects. Dataset GSE23527 was derived from the platform of GPL10358 (LC_MRA-1001_miRHuman_11.0_080411) and contained microRNA arrays of 12 young muscle samples and 12 older muscle samples. The DEGs between the older and young GSE8479 and GSE1428 samples were identified using the online analysis tool imaGEO (https://imageo.genyo.es). Pathway and process enrichment analysis with the ontology sources in the KEGG pathway, GO biological processes, Reactome gene sets, WikiPathways, and CORUM were analyzed by Metascape. A PPI (protein-protein interaction) network of DEGs was constructed using the Search Tool for Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) app in Cytoscape software (version 1.6.0). GEO2R (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) was used to select differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) in the GSE 23527 dataset.Results: In the GSE8479 and GSE1428 datasets, a total of 81 DEGs were discovered, including four upregulated genes and 77 downregulated genes. The top 12 clusters and their representative enriched terms were identified using Metascape. A total of 79 nodes and 186 edges were predicted in the PPI network. One upregulated DE-miRNA (hsa-miR-450a-5p) and six downregulated DE-miRNAs (hsa-miR-127-3p, hsa-miR-24-2-5p, hsa-miR-378a-5p, hsa-miR-532-5p, hsa-miR-487b-5p, and has-miR-487b-3p) were selected in the miRBase database. The MiRWalk online database was utilized for exploring 8017 genes that were selected as genes regulated by DE-miRNAs and six of them overlapped with hub genes. COX7A1 and NDUFB5 showed significantly low expression in sarcopenia patients compared to the controls. COX7B and PDHA1 also displayed low expression in sarcopenia patients, but expression of COX7A1 and NDUFB5 was not significant. TIMM8A and CS showed similar expression rates in both samples.Conclusions: The present bioinformatics analysis showed that two target genes (COX7A1 and NDUFB5) were potentially downregulated in sarcopenia patients. These two genes could be the cause of sarcopenia with aging. In addition, present study showed that several miRNAs (hsa-miR-378a-5p, hsa-miR-532-5p, hsa-miR-127-3p, and hsa-miR-24-2-5p) were identified as regulating the target genes. These results suggest that controlling the identified miRNAs could be a prospective strategy for treating sarcopenia by regulating the mRNA-miRNA network.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suthanthiram Backiyarani ◽  
Rajendran Sasikala ◽  
Simeon Sharmiladevi ◽  
Subbaraya Uma

AbstractBanana, one of the most important staple fruit among global consumers is highly sterile owing to natural parthenocarpy. Identification of genetic factors responsible for parthenocarpy would facilitate the conventional breeders to improve the seeded accessions. We have constructed Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network through mining differentially expressed genes and the genes used for transgenic studies with respect to parthenocarpy. Based on the topological and pathway enrichment analysis of proteins in PPI network, 12 candidate genes were shortlisted. By further validating these candidate genes in seeded and seedless accession of Musa spp. we put forward MaAGL8, MaMADS16, MaGH3.8, MaMADS29, MaRGA1, MaEXPA1, MaGID1C, MaHK2 and MaBAM1 as possible target genes in the study of natural parthenocarpy. In contrary, expression profile of MaACLB-2 and MaZEP is anticipated to highlight the difference in artificially induced and natural parthenocarpy. By exploring the PPI of validated genes from the network, we postulated a putative pathway that bring insights into the significance of cytokinin mediated CLAVATA(CLV)–WUSHEL(WUS) signaling pathway in addition to gibberellin mediated auxin signaling in parthenocarpy. Our analysis is the first attempt to identify candidate genes and to hypothesize a putative mechanism that bridges the gaps in understanding natural parthenocarpy through PPI network.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 205873842097630
Author(s):  
Li Jiang ◽  
Mengmeng Zhang ◽  
Sixue Wang ◽  
Yuzhen Xiao ◽  
Jingni Wu ◽  
...  

The current study intended to explore the interaction of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA) under the background of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network in endometriosis (EMs). The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs), differentially expressed lncRNA (DELs), and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between EMs ectopic (EC) and eutopic (EU) endometrium based on three RNA-sequencing datasets (GSE105765, GSE121406, and GSE105764) were identified, which were used for the construction of ceRNA network. Then, DEGs in the ceRNA network were performed with Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis. Besides, the DEmiRs in the ceRNA network were validated in GSE124010. And the target DELs and DEGs of verified DEmiRs were validated in GSE86534. The correlation of verified DEmiRs, DEGs, and DELs was explored. Moreover, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was applied to investigate the function of verified DEmiRs, DEGs, and DELs. Overall, 1352 DEGs and 595 DELs from GSE105764, along with 27 overlapped DEmiRs between GSE105765 and GSE121406, were obtained. Subsequently, a ceRNA network, including 11 upregulated and 16 downregulated DEmiRs, 7 upregulated and 13 downregulated DELs, 48 upregulated and 46 downregulated DEGs, was constructed. The GO and KEGG pathway analysis showed that this ceRNA network probably was associated with inflammation-related pathways. Furthermore, hsa-miR-182-5p and its target DELs (LINC01018 and SMIM25) and DEGs (BNC2, CHL1, HMCN1, PRDM16) were successfully verified in the validation analysis. Besides, hsa-miR-182-5p was significantly negatively correlated with these target DELs and DEGs. The GSEA analysis implied that high expression of LINC01018, SMIM25, and CHL1, and low expression of hsa-miR-182-5p would activate inflammation-related pathways in endometriosis EU samples. LINC01018 and SMIM25 might sponge hsa-miR-182-5p to upregulate downstream genes such as CHL1 to promote the development of endometriosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 382
Author(s):  
Tingting Zhu ◽  
Han Liu ◽  
Li Su ◽  
Ali Dawood ◽  
Changmin Hu ◽  
...  

Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) has existed for thousands of years, its immune escape mechanism remains obscure. Increasing evidence signifies that microRNAs (miRNAs) play pivotal roles in the progression of tuberculosis (TB). RNA sequencing was used to sequence miRNAs in human acute monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) infected by the virulent MTB-1458 strain and the avirulent vaccine strain Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Sets of differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) between MTB-1458/BCG-infected groups and uninfected groups were identified, among which 18 were differentially expressed only in the MTB-1458-infected THP-1 group. Then, 13 transcription factors (TFs) and 81 target genes of these 18 DE-miRNAs were matched. Gene Ontology classification as well as Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis showed that the candidate targets were predominantly involved in apoptotic-associated and interferon-γ-mediated signaling pathways. A TF-miRNA-mRNA interaction network was constructed to analyze the relationships among these 18 DE-miRNAs and their targets and TFs, as well as display the hub miRNAs, TFs, and target genes. Considering the degrees from network analysis and the reported functions, this study focused on the BHLHE40-miR-378d-BHLHE40 regulation axis and confirmed that BHLHE40 was a target of miR-378d. This cross-talk among DE-miRNAs, mRNAs, and TFs might be an important feature in TB, and the findings merited further study and provided new insights into immune defense and evasion underlying host-pathogen interactions.


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9280
Author(s):  
Jijun Song ◽  
Mingxin Song

Background Echinococcosis caused by larval of Echinococcus is prevalent all over the world. Although clinical experience showed that the presence of tapeworms could not be found in liver lesions, the repeated infection and aggravation of lesions still occur in the host. Here, this study constructed a multifactor-driven disease-related dysfunction network to explore the potential molecular pathogenesis mechanism in different hosts after E.multilocularis infection. Method First, iTRAQ sequencing was performed on human liver infected with E.multilocularis. Second, obtained microRNAs(miRNAs) expression profiles of humans and canine infected with Echinococcus from the GEO database. In addition, we also performed differential expression analysis, protein interaction network analysis, enrichment analysis, and crosstalk analysis to obtain genes and modules related to E.multilocularis infection. Pivot analysis is used to calculate the potential regulatory effects of multiple factors on the module and identify related non-coding RNAs(ncRNAs) and transcription factors(TFs). Finally, we screened the target genes of miRNAs of Echinococcus to further explore its infection mechanism. Results A total of 267 differentially expressed proteins from humans and 3,635 differentially expressed genes from canine were obtained. They participated in 16 human-related dysfunction modules and five canine-related dysfunction modules, respectively. Both human and canine dysfunction modules are significantly involved in BMP signaling pathway and TGF-beta signaling pathway. In addition, pivot analysis found that 1,129 ncRNAs and 110 TFs significantly regulated human dysfunction modules, 158 ncRNAs and nine TFs significantly regulated canine dysfunction modules. Surprisingly, the Echinococcus miR-184 plays a role in the pathogenicity regulation by targeting nine TFs and one ncRNA in humans. Similarly, miR-184 can also cause physiological dysfunction by regulating two transcription factors in canine. Conclusion The results show that the miRNA-184 of Echinococcus can regulate the pathogenic process through various biological functions and pathways. The results laid a solid theoretical foundation for biologists to further explore the pathogenic mechanism of Echinococcosis.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuping Zhu ◽  
Yanyu Li ◽  
Xue Zhu ◽  
Yanmin Jiang ◽  
Xiaowei Zhu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important mediators in the pathogenesis of diabetic gastrointestinal autonomic neuropathy, which has just been reported to have a relation to enteric glial cells (EGCs). However, the role of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of diabetic gastrointestinal autonomic neuropathy, especially EGCs-related gastrointestinal dysfunction, has never been reported. Methods RNA sequencing technology (RNA-Seq) was used to screen the differential lncRNAs and mRNAs in EGCs under hyperglycemia (300 mmol L− 1 high glucose). Results Totally 4678 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE lncRNAs) and 6244 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE mRNAs) were obtained. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis showed significant differences. 2910 and 1549 co-expressed mRNAs were respectively expressed in up-regulated and down-regulated DE lncRNA target genes. Several up- or down-regulated lncRNAs were at the key junction points of the regulatory network. Protein-protein interaction networks showed highly connected clusters were TP53, AKT1, Casp9, Casp8, Casp3, TNF, etc, which are known closely related to apoptosis. FLRT3, Fras1, and other related target genes, which revealed the potential function of lncRNAs, may be important targets for differential lncRNAs to regulate the apoptosis of glial cells induced by hyperglycemia. Conclusion In this study, the involvement of lncRNAs in EGCs under hyperglycemia was analyzed using transcriptome analysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sha Jia ◽  
Xiaofeng Peng ◽  
Ludan Liang ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
...  

BackgroundIncreasing evidence shows that Angptl4 affects proteinuria in podocytes injured kidney disease, however, whether there is a relationship between Angptl4 and IgA nephropathy (IgAN) has not been studied yet.MethodsPlasma and urine samples were obtained from 71 patients with IgAN and 61 healthy controls. Glomeruli from six renal biopsy specimens (three IgAN patients and three healthy controls) were separated by RNA-Seq. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to podocytes and Angptl4 between IgAN patients and healthy controls were performed using the Limma package. Gene set enrichment analysis was used to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups. STRING was used to create a protein-protein interaction network of DEGs. Association analysis between Angptl4 levels and clinical features of IgAN was performed.ResultsThirty-three podocyte-related and twenty-three Angpt4-related DEGs were found between IgAN patients and healthy controls. By overlapping the genes, FOS and G6PC were found to be upregulated in IgAN patients, while MMP9 was downregulated in IgAN patients. Plasma and urine Angptl4 levels were closely related to the degree of podocyte injury and urine protein, but not to the protein-creatine ratio.ConclusionOur findings show that Angptl4 levels in plasma and urine are related to podocyte damage and, therefore, may be a promising tool for assessing the severity of IgAN patients to identify and reverse the progression to ESRD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 4533 ◽  
Author(s):  
András Penyige ◽  
Éva Márton ◽  
Beáta Soltész ◽  
Melinda Szilágyi-Bónizs ◽  
Róbert Póka ◽  
...  

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common cancer types in women characterized by a high mortality rate due to lack of early diagnosis. Circulating miRNAs besides being important regulators of cancer development could be potential biomarkers to aid diagnosis. We performed the circulating miRNA expression analysis in plasma samples obtained from ovarian cancer patients stratified into FIGO I, FIGO III, and FIGO IV stages and from healthy females using the NanoString quantitative assay. Forty-five miRNAs were differentially expressed, out of these 17 miRNAs showed significantly different expression between controls and patients, 28 were expressed only in patients, among them 19 were expressed only in FIGO I patients. Differentially expressed miRNAs were ranked by the network-based analysis to assess their importance. Target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs were identified then functional annotation of the target genes by the GO and KEGG-based enrichment analysis was carried out. A general and an ovary-specific protein–protein interaction network was constructed from target genes. Results of our network and the functional enrichment analysis suggest that besides HSP90AA1, MYC, SP1, BRCA1, RB1, CFTR, STAT3, E2F1, ERBB2, EZH2, and MET genes, additional genes which are enriched in cell cycle regulation, FOXO, TP53, PI-3AKT, AMPK, TGFβ, ERBB signaling pathways and in the regulation of gene expression, proliferation, cellular response to hypoxia, and negative regulation of the apoptotic process, the GO terms have central importance in ovarian cancer development. The aberrantly expressed miRNAs might be considered as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer after validation of these results in a larger cohort of ovarian cancer patients.


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