A novel role of <i>Dermatophagoides farinae</i> -derived miR-276-3p in aggravating mite-induced allergic airway inflammation
<i>Dermatophagoides farinae</i> (DFA), the most prevalent aeroallergen in allergic asthma, releases extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing dfa-miR-276-3p, which plays an important role in DFA sensitization. In this study, we utilized AAV-dfa-miR-276-3p to create a mouse model with dfa-miR-276-3p overexpression in lungs. Using this model, we demonstrated that dfa-miR-276-3p acted as a priming factor that exacerbated DFA extract (DFE)-induced airway inflammation in mice. We also confirmed that dfa-miR-276-3p functioned as a priming pro-inflammatory factor in human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells, enhancing the release of inflammatory cytokines induced by DFE. Furthermore, we found that dfa-miR-276-3p regulated stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) in a targeted manner, leading to increased inflammatory cytokine secretion and activation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. Notably, the addition of recombinant human STC1 alleviated the inflammatory effects of dfa-miR-276-3p, reducing airway inflammation and dampening ROS/NF-κB signaling. Parallel findings in mouse models confirmed that dfa-miR-276-3p drove DFA-induced airway inflammation through STC1-dependent regulation of the ROS/NF-κB pathway. Our study reveals a cross-kingdom regulatory role for DFA-derived miRNAs in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma, highlighting dfa-miR-276-3p as a crucial priming factor in the process of allergic airway inflammation induced by DFA.IMPORTANCEWe demonstrated that dfa-miR-276-3p acted as a priming factor that exacerbated <i>Dermatophagoides farinae</i> (DFA) extract-induced airway inflammation in mice, and functioned as a priming pro-inflammatory factor in human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells. In addition, dfa-miR-276-3p was found to regulate stanniocalcin 1 (STC1) in a targeted manner, leading to increased secretion of inflammatory cytokines and activation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, and addition of recombinant human STC1 alleviated the inflammatory effects of dfa-miR-276-3p, reducing airway inflammation and dampening ROS/NF-κB signaling. Parallel findings in mouse models confirmed that dfa-miR-276-3p drove DFA-induced airway inflammation through STC1-dependent regulation of the ROS/NF-κB pathway. Our findings provide new insights into the role of DFA-derived miRNAs in the development of allergic asthma and propose an alternative pathway for DFA sensitization that may have significant clinical implications for allergy prevention and treatment.
Authors
- Jinyan Yu
- Shanchao Hong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9094-6307)
- Shangde Jiang
- Xiao Zang
- Lianzheng Ma
- Wei Mei
Institutions
- Jiangnan University (CN)
- Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases (CN)
- Nanjing Medical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Microbiology Spectrum
- Published
- 2025-12-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01923-25
- Primary Topic
- Extracellular vesicles in disease
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00