Regulation of Onecut2 by miR-9-5p in Japanese encephalitis virus infected neural stem/progenitor cells

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is one of the major neurotropic viral infections that is known to dysregulate the homeostasis of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) and depletes the stem cell pool. NSPCs are multipotent stem cell population of the central nervous system (CNS) which are known to play an important role in the repair of the CNS during insults/injury caused by several factors such as ischemia, neurological disorders, CNS infections, and so on. Viruses have evolved to utilize host factors for their own benefit and during JEV infection, host factors, including the non-coding RNAs such as miRNAs, are reported to be affected, thereby cellular processes regulated by the miRNAs exhibit perturbed functionality. Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated the role of JEV infection in dysregulating the function of neural stem cells (NSCs) by altering the cell fate and depleting the stem cell pool leading to a decline in stem cell function in CNS repair mechanism post-infection. JEV-induced alteration in miRNA expression in the NSCs is one of the major interest to us. In prior studies, we have observed an altered expression pattern of certain miRNAs following JEV infection. In this study, we have validated the role of JEV infection in NSCs in altering the expression of miR-9-5p, which is a known regulator of neurogenesis in NSCs. Furthermore, we have validated the interaction of this miRNA with its target, Onecut2 (OC2), in primary NSCs utilizing miRNA mimic and inhibitor transfection experiments. Our findings indicate a possible role of JEV mediated dysregulated interaction between miR-9-5p and its putative target OC2 in NSPCs.

MicroRNAs have emerged as key disease pathogenic markers and potential therapeutic targets. In this study, we solidify this concept by studying a key miRNA, miR-9-5p, in Japanese encephalitis virus infection of neural stem/progenitor cells. miRNA target Onecut2 has a possible role in stem cell pool biology. Here, we show a possible mechanistic axis worth investing in neurotropic viral biology.