Next-generation sequencing predicts interaction network between miRNA and target genes in lipoteichoic acid-stimulated human neutrophils

Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are a class of pattern-recognition receptors, can sense specific molecules of pathogens and then activate immune cells, such as neutrophils. The regulation of TLR signaling in immune cells has been investigated by various studies. However, the interaction of TLR signaling-activated microRNAs (miRNAs) and genes has not been well investigated in a specific type of immune cells. In the present study, neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood of a healthy donor, and then treated for 16 h with Staphylococcus aureus lipoteichoic acid (LTA), which is an agonist of TLR2. The miRNA and mRNA expression profiles were analyzed via next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics approaches. A total of 290 differentially expressed genes between LTA-treated and vehicle-treated neutrophils were identified. Gene ontology analysis revealed that various biological processes and pathways, including inflammatory responses, defense response, positive regulation of cell migration, motility, and locomotion, and cell surface receptor signaling pathway, were significantly enriched. In addition, 38 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified and predicted to be involved in regulating signal transduction and cell communication. The interaction of 4 miRNAs (hsa-miR-34a-5p, hsa-miR-34c-5p, hsa-miR-708-5p, and hsa-miR-1271-5p) and 5 genes (MET, CACNB3, TNS3, TTYH3, and HBEGF) was proposed to participate in the LTA-induced signaling network. The present findings may provide novel information for understanding the detailed expression profiles and potential networks between miRNAs and their target genes in LTA-stimulated healthy neutrophils.