The miRNA-targeted transcriptome of porcine alveolar macrophages upon infection with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Host miRNAs are known to modulate the cell response to virus infections. We characterized the miRNA-targeted transcriptome of porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) at early times after infection with a subtype 1.1 strain of PRRSV (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus). We performed the immunoprecipitation of RISC (RNA-induced Silencing Complex) followed by microarray analysis of the RISC-bound miRNA targets (RIP-Chip) to evaluate the relative enrichment or depletion of expressed genes in RISC. The miRNA-mediated regulation occurred early after PRRSV infection and decreased fast (1,241 and 141 RISC-bound genes at 7 h and 10 h post-infection, respectively); it affected several cell functions with evidence of miRNA buffering of upregulated interferon-related genes. Eight miRNAs were highly enriched in RISC of both control and infected cells with no evidence of differential expression. Although miR-335-5p was the miRNA with most predicted targets among enriched RISC-bound genes, no effects on surface markers, cytokine expression and PRRSV replication were detected upon miR-335-5p mimics of primary PAMs. Our results do not point to specific miRNA-driven mechanisms regulating the early response to infection with this PRRSV 1.1 strain and indicate that the miRNome expressed by steady-state PAMs reacts promptly to counterbalance PRRSV infection by a pervasive modulation of host functions.