Dysregulated expression of microRNAs in aqueous humor from intraocular tuberculosis patients

Systemic Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection alters microRNA's expression that controls cellular processes and modulates host defense mechanisms. However, the role of miRNAs in intraocular tuberculosis (IOTB) remains unknown. Therefore, this study aims to identify dysregulated miRNAs in the aqueous humor (AH) of patients with IOTB.

AH from intraocular tuberculosis patients (n = 2) and cataract controls (n = 2) were used for small RNA deep sequencing using HiSeq Illumina sequencing platform. Differentially expressed miRNAs and their targets were identified by the bioinformatics approach, and their regulatory functions were predicted by pathway enrichment analysis. The expression of selected miRNAs and their binding targets were further validated by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR).

In total, we identified 56 differentially expressed miRNAs in the AH of intraocular tuberculosis (IOTB) patients compared to controls. We selected four significantly dysregulated miRNAs (miR-423-5p, miR-328-3p, miR-21-5p, and miR-16-5p) based on the RT-qPCR validation and predicted their gene targets. We developed a miRNA-targets regulatory network by combining pathways of interest and genes associated with TB. We identified that these four miRNAs might play an important role in IOTB pathogenesis via tuberculosis-associated pathways; PI3K-Akt signaling, autophagy and MAPK pathway.

For the first time, this study identifies the dysregulation of four miRNAs in the AH of IOTB patients using the ultra-low input small-RNA sequencing approach. Further target prediction and validation identify the role of these miRNAs in tuberculosis pathogenesis via tuberculosis-related pathways. This study identifies miRNAs as potentially ideal biomarkers in the aqueous humor of IOTB patients.