Loa loa and Onchocerca ochengi miRNAs detected in host circulation

• Twenty-two Loa loa miRNA candidates were found in plasma from infected baboons.
• Ten Onchocerca ochengi miRNA candidates were found in plasma from an infected cow.
• Most miRNA candidates were unique to one host–parasite association.
• Across filarial species, the identified miRNAs showed seed sequence conservation.

A combination of deep-sequencing and bioinformatics analysis enabled identification of twenty-two microRNA candidates of potential nematode origin in plasma from Loa loa-infected baboons and a further ten from the plasma of an Onchocerca ochengi-infected cow. The obtained data were compared to results from previous work on miRNA candidates from Dirofilaria immitis and O. volvulus found in host circulating blood, to examine the species specificity of the released miRNA. None of the miRNA candidates was found to be present in all four host–parasite scenarios and most of them were specific to only one of them. Eight candidate miRNAs were found to be identical in the full sequence in at least two different infections, while nine candidate miRNAs were found to be similar but not identical in at least four filarial species.

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