Analysis of the miRNA expression profile in an Aedes albopictus cell line in response to bluetongue virus infection

Cellular microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be key regulators of virus-host interactions. Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an insect-borne virus that causes huge economic losses in the livestock industry worldwide. Aedes albopictus cell lines have become powerful and convenient tools for studying BTV-vector interactions. However, the role of miRNAs in A. albopictus cells during BTV infection is not well understood. In this study, we performed a deep sequencing analysis of small RNA libraries of BTV-infected and mock-infected A. albopictus cells, and a total of 11,206,854 and 12,125,274 clean reads were identified, respectively. A differential expression analysis showed that 140 miRNAs, including 15 known and 125 novel miRNAs, were significantly dysregulated after infection, and a total of 414 and 2307 target genes were annotated, respectively. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction validated the expression patterns of 11 selected miRNAs and their mRNA targets. Functional annotation of the target genes suggested that these target genes were mainly involved in metabolic pathways, oxidative phosphorylation, endocytosis, RNA transport, as well as the FoxO, Hippo, Jak-STAT, and MAPK signaling pathways. This is the first systematic study on the effect of BTV infection on miRNA expression in A. albopictus cells. This investigation provides information concerning the cellular miRNA expression profile in response to BTV infection, and it offers clues for identifying potential candidates for vector-based antiviral strategies.