TABLE 5.
Functions and characteristics of microRNA in fungal infectionsa
| Type of miRNAs | Target gene/pathway | Study type | Functions and characteristics of miRNA |
|---|---|---|---|
| microRNA in Candida infection | |||
| miR-129–5p, miR-132–3p, miR-212–3p, and miR-212–5p | |||
| Not reported | Human in vitro study (171) (dendritic cells from healthy volunteers) | These are induced by Candida albicans in dendritic cells. | |
| miR-30–5p, miR-146a, and miR-210–3p | |||
| NF-κB signaling pathway | Human in vitro study (169) (THP-1 cells) | These expression levels are increased in human THP-1 cells after exposure of Candida albicans. Overexpression of miR146a significantly suppresses the production of IL-6 and TNF-α. | |
| miR-146a | |||
| Not reported | Human in vitro study (170) (PBMCs) | The expression of miR-146a is downregulated in infected macrophages with Candida glabrata. The downregulated miR-146a might reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine production. | |
| microRNA in Aspergillus infection | |||
| miR-145–5p, miR-424–5p, miR99b-5p, miR-4488, and (miR-4454 + miR-7975) | JAK STAT and NF-κB signaling pathway | Clinical study (45) (BALF samples) | In the lung transplant recipients, a total of five miRNAs are found to be specific to invasive aspergillosis, including four (miR-145–5p, miR-424–5p, miR-99b-5p, and miR-4488) that were upregulated and the pair (miR-4454 + miR-7975) that was downregulated in the invasive aspergillosis group versus controls. |
| miR-21–5p, miR-26b-5p miR-142–3p, and miR-142–5p | |||
| Not reported | Clinical study (172) (blood sample) | These show significant overexpression due to invasive aspergillosis in hemato-oncology patients with profound neutropenia. | |
| miR-191, miR-106, miR16-2, miR-26, miR-15, miR-20, miR-106, and miR-17 | |||
| Not reported | Clinical study (173) (blood sample) | 8 miRNAs (miR-191–5p, miR-106b-5p, miR-16-2-3p, miR-26a-5p, miR-15a-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-106a-5p, and miR-17–5p) measured by quantitative RT-PCR had high discriminatory power (AUC >0.98 in ROC analysis), which could distinguish proven/probable IA from possible IA. | |
| miR-129–5p, miR-132–3p, miR-132–5p, miR-212–3p, and miR-212–5p | |||
| Not reported | Human in vitro study (171) (PBMCs) | These are induced by Aspergillus fumigatus in dendritic cells. | |
| miR-132 | |||
| Not reported | Human in vitro study (174) (PBMCs) | miR-132 is induced by Aspergillus fumigatus but not by lipopolysaccharide in human monocytes and dendritic cells. | |
| miR-146a | |||
| IRAK1 and TRAF6 | Human in vitro study (47) (THP-1 cells) |
Downregulates the level of TNF-α and IL-6 through the NF-κB signaling pathway in THP-1 macrophage-like cells challenged with A. fumigatus. | |
a
AUC, area under the curve; BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; IL, interleukin; IRAK1, interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase; NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa B; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cell; ROC, receiver operating characteristic; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha; TRAF6, tumor necrosis factor receptor‑associated factor 6.