MicroRNAs (
miRNAs) are 22-nucleotide single-stranded RNAs which regulate gene expression by targeting
3' untranslated regions. Previous studies have suggested that
miRNAs may be used as markers for investigating the molecular regulation of gene expression. In the present study,
miRNA and
mRNA expression profiles were investigated using a massively parallel next generation sequencing technique to compare herpes simplex virus (HSV)2-infected (n=3) and healthy (n=3) epithelial tissues from guinea pigs. Total
RNA was isolated and
RNA sequencing was performed using a HiSeq 2000 sequencing system. Differential expression of
miRNA and
mRNA was analyzed using two-tailed t-tests. A negative correlation was detected between the
miRNAs and their predicted target genes. Following
infection with HSV2, 205 and 159
miRNAs were demonstrated to be upregulated and downregulated, respectively. These differentially expressed
miRNAs were associated with cellular and metabolic processes, biological regulation, response to stimuli and cellular components of the immune system, as determined by functional gene ontology analysis. Following HSV2
infection, 6 upregulated
miRNAs including miR-592, miR-1245b-5p, miR-150, miR-342-5p, miR-1245b-3p and miR-124 were demonstrated to participate in the
toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway by targeting related genes. These results suggested that the downregulated genes were associated with the TLR pathway after
infection with HSV2. The results of reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis were consistent with
RNA sequencing, indicating that the increased expression of these
miRNAs downregulated the TLR pathway-associated genes, which may mediate the progression of HSV2-induced
genital herpes.