Project description:In this study, we investigated whether miRNA deregulation might underlie the functional abnormalities of cystic fibrosis (CF) macrophages. To this aim we performed miRNA profiling in macrophages from CF and non-CF macrophages. This led to the identification of a panel of differentially expressed miRNAs in CF macrophages compared to non-CF cells.
Project description:Cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disorder, is characterized by chronic lung disease. Small non-coding RNAs are key regulators of gene expression and participate in various processes, which are dysregulated in CF; however, they remain poorly studied. Here, we determined the complete microRNAs (miRNAs) expression pattern in three CF ex-vivo models. The miRNA profiles of air-liquid interface cultures of airway epithelia (bronchi, nasal cells, and nasal polyps) samples from patients with CF and non-CF controls were obtained by deep sequencing. Compared with non-CF controls, several miRNAs were deregulated in CF samples, for instance miR-181a-5p and the miR-449 family were upregulated. Moreover, mature miRNAs often showed variations (i.e., isomiRs) relative to their reference sequence, such as miR-101, suggesting that miRNAs consist of heterogeneous repertoires of multiple isoforms with different effects on gene expression. Analysis of miR-181a-5p and miR-101-3p roles indicated that they regulate the expression of WISP1, a key component of cell proliferation/migration programs. We showed that miR-101 and miR-181a-5p participated in aberrant recapitulation of wound healing programs by controlling WISP1 mRNA and protein level. Our miRNA expression data bring new insights into CF physiopathology and define new potential therapeutic targets in CF
Project description:We studied miRNAs and their gene targets affecting SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis in CF airway epithelial cell models in response to TGF-β1. Small RNAseq in CF human bronchial epithelial cell line treated with TGF-β1 and miRNA profiling characterized TGF-β1 effects on the SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis pathways. Among the effectors, we identified and validated two miRNAs targeting ACE2 mRNA using different CF and non-CF human bronchial epithelial cell models. We have shown that TGF-β1 inhibits ACE2 expression by miR-136-3p and miR-369-5p. ACE2 levels were higher in cells expressing F508del-CFTR, compared to wild-type(WT)-CFTR and TGF-β1 inhibited ACE2 in both cell types. The ACE2 protein levels were still higher in CF, compared to non-CF cells after TGF-β1 treatment. TGF-β1 prevented the functional rescue of F508del-CFTR by ETI in primary human bronchial epithelial cells while ETI did not prevent the TGF-β1 inhibition of ACE2 protein. Finally, TGF-β1 reduced binding of ACE2 to the recombinant monomeric spike RBD. Our results may help to explain, at least in part, the role of TGF-β1 on the SARS-CoV-2 entry via ACE2 in the CF and non-CF airway.