Edible plant-derived exosomal microRNAs: Exploiting a cross-kingdom regulatory mechanism for targeting SARS-CoV-2.

Sreeram, P. K. and Gopinath, M. S. (2021) Edible plant-derived exosomal microRNAs: Exploiting a cross-kingdom regulatory mechanism for targeting SARS-CoV-2. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 414. p. 115425.

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Abstract

Background: The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by SARS-CoV-2 which belongs to coronaviridae family. Despite the global prevalence, there are currently no vaccines or drugs. Dietary plant derived exosome-like vesicles are known as edible nanoparticles (ENPs). ENPs are filled with microRNAs (miRNAs), in bioavailable form. Recently, cross-kingdom regulation of human transcripts by plant miRNAs have been demonstrated. However, ENP derived miRNAs targeting SARS-CoV-2 has not been described. Study design: Mature ENP-derived miRNA sequences were retrieved from small RNA sequencing datasets available in the literature. In silico target prediction was performed to identify miRNAs that could target SARS-CoV-2. ENPs were isolated from ginger and grapefruit plants and the expression of SARS-CoV-2 targeting miRNAs were confirmed by qRT-PCR. Results: From a total of 260 ENP-derived miRNAs, we identified 22 miRNAs that could potentially target SARSCoV-2 genome. 11 miRNAs showed absolute target specificity towards SARS-CoV-2 but not SARS-CoV. ENPs from soybean, ginger, hamimelon, grapefruit, tomato and pear possess multiple miRNAs targeting different regions within SARS-CoV-2. Interestingly, osa/cme miR-530b-5p specifically targeted the ribosomal slippage site between ORF1a and ORF1b. We validated the relative expression of six miRNAs (miR-5077, miR-6300, miR156a, miR-169, miR-5059 and miR-166 m) in ginger and grapefruit ENPs by RT-PCR which showed differential enrichment of specific miRNAs in ginger and grapefruit ENPs. Conclusion: Since administration of ENPs leads to their accumulation into lung tissues in vivo, ENP derived miRNAs targeting SARS-CoV-2 genome has the potential to be developed as an alternative therapy.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Edible nanoparticles microRNAs SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 Extracellular vesicles
Subjects:	500 Natural Sciences and Mathematics > 10 Plants 500 Natural Sciences and Mathematics > 07 Life Sciences > 03 Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Divisions:	Molecular Nutrition
Depositing User:	Food Sci. & Technol. Information Services
Date Deposited:	17 Feb 2021 08:39
Last Modified:	17 Feb 2021 08:39
URI:	http://ir.cftri.res.in/id/eprint/14799

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