miRNA-seq of miRNAs expression in aorta samples of F. nucleatum-infected mice

Periodontitis is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, and F. nucleatum is one of the periodontal pathogens. Several studies have confirmed that miRNAs can affect all aspects of AS disease progression, including lipid metabolism, foam cell formation, cell necrosis, etc. However, no studies have explored whether F. nucleatum can affect AS disease progression by regulating miRNA expression. In this study, we intend to acquire miRNA expression profiles of aorta samples of AS mice by next-generation sequencing(NGS) and perform bioinformatics analysis to compare the differential expression of miRNAs in the F. nucleatum group and the Control group. Results revealed that 16 microRNAs differentially expressed, of which 13 miRNAs expression were down-regulated and 3 miRNAs expression were up-regulated. GO enrichment analysis showed that they were related to negative regulation of superoxide anion production, protein binding and positive regulation of myocardial apoptosis. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that they were related to necrotizing apoptosis, neurotrophic factor signaling pathway, Nod-like receptor signaling pathway, apoptosis, Wnt signaling pathway, Ras signaling pathway and autophagy, etc. This suggests that F. nucleatum may regulate AS progression through miRNAs. Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of miRNA-seq data for F. nucleatum-infected aorta samples of mice and control group.