Regulation Mechanism of miR-23a in Oreochromis mossambicus During Aeromonas hydrophila Infection

This study used Aeromonas hydrophila infection and culture of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) renal cells to analyze the time dependent expression of miR-23a in tilapia renal cells infected with A. hydrophila. The current results showed that the expression of miR-23a changed significantly at different time points of infection. Using RNAhybrid software to predict the target site of miR-23a and construct a plasmid, the binding ability of the target gene 3`-UTR to miR-23a was verified through dual luciferase reporter gene assay. We found that target genes were reverse regulated, and tbk1, glut1 were identified as miR-23a target genes. Expression of ldha, ldhba, pdha 1a and pdha 1b was suppressed after overexpression of miR-23a. These results indicated that miR-23a was involved in the regulation of the immune response in tilapia kidney cells after A. hydrophila infection. tbk1 and glut1 are the target genes of miR-23a that can affect the expression of downstream genes by targeting GLUT1. The above results provide important insights into the role of miR-23a in regulating the immune response in bony fish and further understanding of miRNA-mediated multiple target genes to regulate innate immunity in fish.