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Villar SR, Herreros-Cabello A, Callejas-Hernández F, Maza MC, Del Moral-Salmoral J, Gómez-Montes M, Rodríguez-Angulo HO, Carrillo I, Górgolas M, Bosch-Nicolau P, Molina I, Pérez-Molina JA, Monge-Maillo B, Bottasso OA, Beloscar J, Pérez AR, Fresno M, Gironès N. Discovery of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of chronic Chagas heart disease via a small RNA-Seq approach. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1187. [PMID: 38216639 PMCID: PMC10786931 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51487-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Chagas disease affects approximately 7 million people worldwide in Latin America and is a neglected tropical disease. Twenty to thirty percent of chronically infected patients develop chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy decades after acute infection. Identifying biomarkers of Chagas disease progression is necessary to develop better therapeutic and preventive strategies. Circulating microRNAs are increasingly reliable biomarkers of disease and therapeutic targets. To identify new circulating microRNAs for Chagas disease, we performed exploratory small RNA sequencing from the plasma of patients and performed de novo miRNA prediction, identifying potential new microRNAs. The levels of the new microRNAs temporarily named miR-Contig-1519 and miR-Contig-3244 and microRNAs that are biomarkers for nonchagasic cardiomyopathies, such as miR-148a-3p and miR-224-5p, were validated by quantitative reverse transcription. We found a specific circulating microRNA signature defined by low miR-Contig-3244, miR-Contig-1519, and miR-148a-3 levels but high miR-224-5p levels for patients with chronic Chagas disease. Finally, we predicted in silico that these altered circulating microRNAs could affect the expression of target genes involved in different cellular pathways and biological processes, which we will explore in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvina R Villar
- Instituto de Inmunología Clínica y Experimental de Rosario (IDICER-CONICET-UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Alfonso Herreros-Cabello
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Callejas-Hernández
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - María C Maza
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Del Moral-Salmoral
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mario Gómez-Montes
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Irene Carrillo
- Division of Infectious Diseases, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Górgolas
- Division of Infectious Diseases, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pau Bosch-Nicolau
- International Health Unit Vall d'Hebron-Drassanes, Infectious Diseases Department, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, PROSICS Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Israel Molina
- International Health Unit Vall d'Hebron-Drassanes, Infectious Diseases Department, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, PROSICS Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - José A Pérez-Molina
- National Referral Unit for Tropical Diseases, Infectious Diseases Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, IRICYS, Madrid, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Begoña Monge-Maillo
- National Referral Unit for Tropical Diseases, Infectious Diseases Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, IRICYS, Madrid, Spain
- CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Oscar A Bottasso
- Instituto de Inmunología Clínica y Experimental de Rosario (IDICER-CONICET-UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Juan Beloscar
- Cátedra y Servicio de Cardiología, Sección Chagas, Hospital Provincial del Centenario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Ana R Pérez
- Instituto de Inmunología Clínica y Experimental de Rosario (IDICER-CONICET-UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Manuel Fresno
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IUBM-UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain
| | - Núria Gironès
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049, Madrid, Spain.
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto Universitario de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (IUBM-UAM), Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
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Ferri G, Fernández LR, Di Mario G, Musikant D, Palermo JA, Edreira MM. Host cell cAMP-Epac-Rap1b pathway inhibition by hawthorn extract as a potential target against Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1301862. [PMID: 38156015 PMCID: PMC10754523 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1301862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the two drugs currently available for the treatment of Chagas disease, Benznidazole and Nifurtimox, have proven to be effective in the acute phase of the disease, the 60-90-day treatment leads to high toxicity and unwanted side effects, presenting, in addition, a low efficacy in the chronic phase of the disease. For this reason, new therapies that are more effective are needed. In this regard, we have recently shown that the inhibition of the Epac-Rap1b pathway suppressed the cAMP-mediated host cell invasion by Trypanosoma cruzi. Interestingly, it has been described that vitexin, a natural flavone that protects against ischemia-reperfusion damage, acts by inhibiting the expression of Epac and Rap1 proteins. Vitexin can be found in plants of the genus Crataegus spp., traditionally known as hawthorn, which are of great interest considering their highly documented use as cardio-protectors. Pre-treating cells with an extract of Crataegus oxyacantha produced levels of T. cruzi invasion comparable to the ones observed for the commercially available Epac1-specific inhibitor, ESI-09. In addition, extract-treated cells exhibited a decrease in the activation of Rap1b, suggesting that the effects of the extract would be mediated by the inhibition of the cAMP-Epac-Rap1 signaling pathway. Using HPLC-HRMS2, we could confirm the presence of vitexin, and other flavones that could act as inhibitors of Epac/Rap1b, in the extracts of C. oxyacantha. Most significantly, when cells were treated with the extract of C. oxyacantha in conjunction with Nifurtimox, an increased modulation of invasion was observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Ferri
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, IQUIBICEN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de Trypanosomas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucía R. Fernández
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de Trypanosomas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos Aplicados a la Química Orgánica (UMYMFOR), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Guillermo Di Mario
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, IQUIBICEN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de Trypanosomas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Daniel Musikant
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, IQUIBICEN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de Trypanosomas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Jorge A. Palermo
- Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos Aplicados a la Química Orgánica (UMYMFOR), CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Martin M. Edreira
- CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, IQUIBICEN, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular de Trypanosomas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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