The biological functions of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been studied in a number of eukaryotic species. Recent studies on vertebrate animals have demonstrated critical roles of miRNA in immune and metabolic activities. However, studies on the functions of miRNA in invertebrates are very limited. Here, we demonstrated that miR-31 from Apostichopus japonicus disrupts the balance of lipid metabolism, thus resulting in cell apoptosis by targeting complement C1q tumor necrosis factor-related protein 9 (AjCTRP9), a novel adipokine with pleiotropic functions in immunity and metabolism. Lipidomic analysis suggested that the intercellular lipid metabolites were markedly altered, and three ceramide (Cer) species synchronously increased in the AjCTRP9-silenced coelomocytes. Moreover, exogenous Cer exposure significantly induced apoptosis in the coelomocytes in vivo, in agreement with findings from miR-31 mimic- or AjCTRP9 small-interfering RNA-transfected coelomocytes. Furthermore, we found that the imbalance in sphingolipid metabolism triggered by the overproduction of Cers ultimately resulted in the activation of the apoptosis initiator caspase-8 and executioner caspase-3. Our findings provide the first direct evidence that miR-31 negatively modulates the expression of AjCTRP9 and disturbance of Cer channels, thus leading to caspase-3- and caspase-8-dependent apoptosis, during the interactions between pathogens and host.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 March 2017.
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