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Deny M, Popotas A, Hanssens L, Lefèvre N, Arroba Nuñez LA, Ouafo GS, Corazza F, Casimir G, Chamekh M. Sex-biased expression of selected chromosome x-linked microRNAs with potent regulatory effect on the inflammatory response in children with cystic fibrosis: A preliminary pilot investigation. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1114239. [PMID: 37077918 PMCID: PMC10106689 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1114239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have reported sex disparity in cystic fibrosis (CF) disease, with females experiencing more pulmonary exacerbations and frequent microbial infections resulting in shorter survival expectancy. This concerns both pubertal and prepubertal females, which is in support to the prominent role of gene dosage rather than the hormonal status. The underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. The X chromosome codes for a large number of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) that play a crucial role in the post-transcriptional regulation of several genes involved in various biological processes, including inflammation. However, their level of expression in CF males and females has not been sufficiently explored. In this study, we compared in male and female CF patients the expression of selected X-linked miRNAs involved in inflammatory processes. Cytokine and chemokine profiles were also evaluated at both protein and transcript levels and cross-analyzed with the miRNA expression levels. We observed increased expression of miR-223-3p, miR-106a-5p, miR-221-3p and miR-502-5p in CF patients compared to healthy controls. Interestingly, the overexpression of miR-221-3p was found to be significantly higher in CF girls than in CF boys and this correlates positively with IL-1β. Moreover, we found a trend toward lower expression in CF girls than in CF boys of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) and the ubiquitin-editing enzyme PDLIM2, two mRNA targets of miR-221-3p that are known to inhibit the NF-κB pathway. Collectively, this clinical study highlights a sex-bias in X-linked miR-221-3p expression in blood cells and its potential contribution to sustaining a higher inflammatory response in CF girls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maud Deny
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alexandros Popotas
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Laurence Hanssens
- Institut de Mucoviscidose – Unité Pédiatrique, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Lefèvre
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Institut de Mucoviscidose – Unité Pédiatrique, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Luis Alexis Arroba Nuñez
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ghislaine Simo Ouafo
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Francis Corazza
- Laboratoire de Médecine Translationnelle, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Brugmann, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Georges Casimir
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Institut de Mucoviscidose – Unité Pédiatrique, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mustapha Chamekh
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
- Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Brussels, Belgium
- *Correspondence: Mustapha Chamekh,
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Deny M, Arroba Nuñez LA, Romano M, Denis O, Casimir G, Chamekh M. Sex difference in innate inflammatory response and macrophage polarization in Streptococcus agalactiae-induced pneumonia and potential role of microRNA-223-3p. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17126. [PMID: 36224333 PMCID: PMC9555696 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21587-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
While number of studies have shown that biological sex is a risk factor in the incidence and severity of infection-induced inflammatory diseases, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, we compared the innate inflammatory response in male and female mice with group B streptococcal (GBS)-induced pneumoniae. Although male and female mice displayed similar bacterial burdens, males exhibited more innate inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and a higher proportion of infiltrating monocytes/macrophages. The analysis of the distribution of macrophage subtypes M1 (pro-inflammatory) versus M2 (anti-inflammatory) yielded a higher M1/M2 ratio in infected males compared with females. Given the importance of the chromosome X-linked microRNA-223-3p (miR-223-3p) in modulating the inflammatory process and macrophage polarization, we investigated its potential contribution in sex bias of GBS-induced innate inflammatory response. Knock-down of miR-223-3p with specific antagomiR resulted in increased inflammatory response and higher M1/M2 ratio following GBS infection. Notably, compared to male mice, we detected higher amount of miR-223-3p in macrophages from females that correlated negatively with M1 phenotype. These results suggest that differential expression of miR-233-3p may impact macrophage polarization, thereby contributing to fine-tune sex differences in inflammatory response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maud Deny
- grid.4989.c0000 0001 2348 0746Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium ,grid.4989.c0000 0001 2348 0746ULB Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Luis Alexis Arroba Nuñez
- grid.4989.c0000 0001 2348 0746Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium ,grid.4989.c0000 0001 2348 0746ULB Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marta Romano
- grid.508031.fImmune Response Service, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Olivier Denis
- grid.508031.fImmune Response Service, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Georges Casimir
- grid.4989.c0000 0001 2348 0746Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium ,Queen Fabiola University Children’s Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mustapha Chamekh
- grid.4989.c0000 0001 2348 0746Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium ,grid.4989.c0000 0001 2348 0746ULB Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI), Brussels, Belgium
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Chamekh M, Deny M, Romano M, Lefèvre N, Corazza F, Duchateau J, Casimir G. Differential Susceptibility to Infectious Respiratory Diseases between Males and Females Linked to Sex-Specific Innate Immune Inflammatory Response. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1806. [PMID: 29321783 PMCID: PMC5733536 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely acknowledged that males and females exhibit contrasting degrees of susceptibility to infectious and non-infectious inflammatory diseases. This is particularly observed in respiratory diseases where human males are more likely to be affected by infection-induced acute inflammations compared to females. The type and magnitude of the innate immune inflammatory response play a cardinal role in this sex bias. Animal models mimicking human respiratory diseases have been used to address the biological factors that could explain the distinct outcomes. In this review, we focus on our current knowledge about experimental studies investigating sex-specific differences in infection-induced respiratory diseases and we provide an update on the most important innate immune mechanisms that could explain sex bias of the inflammatory response. We also discuss whether conclusions drawn from animal studies could be relevant to human.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mustapha Chamekh
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Queen Fabiola University Children's Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Maud Deny
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Queen Fabiola University Children's Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marta Romano
- Service of Immunology, Scientific Institute for Public Health (WIV-ISP), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Lefèvre
- Laboratory of Translational Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Pulmonology, Allergology and Cystic Fibrosis, Queen Fabiola University Children's Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Francis Corazza
- Laboratory of Translational Research, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jean Duchateau
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Queen Fabiola University Children's Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Georges Casimir
- Inflammation Unit, Laboratory of Pediatric Research, Faculty of Medicine, Queen Fabiola University Children's Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Pulmonology, Allergology and Cystic Fibrosis, Queen Fabiola University Children's Hospital, Brussels, Belgium
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