| Popis: |
Objective: To investigate the expression levels of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) and miRNA146a in peripheral blood of children with infectious mononucleosis and the effect of miRNA146a on IRF-3 expression. Methods: In an in vivo experiment, the expression levels of IRF-3 and miRNA146a in peripheral blood of 45 children with infectious mononucleosis and 34 healthy controls were detected by real-time PCR. The in vitro experiment was performed to examine the effect of miRNA146a on IRF-3 expression levels by transfecting miRNA146a mimics and their inhibitors. Results: There was significant difference in IRF-3 gene expression in peripheral blood between healthy controls and children with infectious mononucleosis (t = 30.340, P < 0.001) while miRNA146a expression was significantly increased compared with healthy controls (t = 34.659, P < 0.001), and there was a negative correlation between the two groups (r = -0.960, P < 0.05). In HeLa cells, transfection with miRNA146a mimics significantly decreased the expression of IRF-3 mRNA (t = 8.270, P < 0.001) and protein (t = 46.170, P < 0.001), while miRNA146a inhibitor significantly up-regulated the expression of IRF-3 mRNA (t = 8.582, P < 0.001) and protein (t = 25.891, P < 0.001). Conclusion: miRNA146a may be involved in the down-regulation of IRF-3 gene expression by Epstein- Barr virus in children with infectious mononucleosis and then involved in the pathogenesis of infectious mononucleosis. |
