ArticleScientific reports2026
Differential microRNA expression profiles and predicted miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in human macrophage-like cells infected with Leishmania infantum.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression and play a crucial role in numerous diseases, including infections. Leishmaniasis is a neglected infectious disease occurring in different forms (i.e., cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral) caused by a protozoan belonging to the Leishmania genus. The parasite infects mainly the macrophages, establishing a niche permissive for its proliferation. Leishmania parasites are known to modulate host gene expression, including miRNAs; however, the specific role of these miRNAs in driving host transcriptomic changes remains to be fully characterized. The aim of this work was to study miRNA expression profile in human macrophage-like cells infected by L. infantum, the causative agent of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean region. Moreover, we attempted to identify putative miRNA-mRNA interactions based on the mRNA expression changes previously described. To this end, small RNA-seq was performed in U937 cells infected with L. infantum after 24 h and 48 h, and differentially expressed miRNA were identified and validated through qPCR. For identifying miRNA-mRNA interactions, the upregulated and downregulated miRNAs at 24 h (n = 24, 10) and 48 h (n = 25, 12) post-infection were analyzed against downregulated and upregulated mRNA, respectively, through the mirDIP (microRNA Data Integration Portal) database. A large fraction of dysregulated protein-coding transcripts was predicted to be affected by dysregulated miRNAs identified in the same samples. We focused in particular on protein-coding genes involved in previously identified dysregulated pathways characterizing L. infantum infection (i.e., cholesterol and lipid metabolism, VEGF-VEGFR2 and NF2EL2-related pathways) and transcription factors (TFs). Notably, the fraction of protein coding transcripts predicted to be targeted by dysregulated miRNAs was particularly high in TFs, indicating that changes in a small set of miRNAs may have great impact on macrophage expression profile and phenotype.
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