Cellular lncRNA reprogramming induced by Brucella Omp19 and functional analysis of inflammation-related lncRNA...

The outer membrane protein 19 of Brucellais a key virulence factor that modulates host immune responses; however, its regulatory impact on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression remains poorly understood. In this study, we used RNA sequencing to analyze the lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles following Omp19 overexpression in HEK293 cells. We identified 645 differentially expressed lncRNAs (304 upregulated, 341 downregulated) and 114 differentially expressed mRNAs (102 upregulated, 12 downregulated). Bioinformatics analysis revealed significant enrichment of target genes in apoptosis, NF-κB signaling, IL-17 signaling, and the JAK-STAT pathway. RT-qPCR validation confirmed a high correlation with the sequencing data (R² > 0.89, P < 0.0001). Functional characterization of the key differentially expressed long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MIR99AHG indicated that its overexpression significantly upregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-α, IFN-β, TNF-α) while simultaneously suppressing IL-10. Our findings demonstrate that Brucella Omp19 reprograms the host lncRNA expression profile and that lncRNA-MIR99AHG functions as a positive regulator of Omp19-mediated inflammation, providing new insights into the pathogenic mechanisms of Brucella and potential therapeutic targets.