Characterization of long non-coding RNAs in pediatric patients naturally infected with Chikungunya virus

• Grant number: 19/13542-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2019
• End date: November 30, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Flavia Lombardi Lopes
• Grantee: Juliana de Souza Felix
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Chikungunya fever is an arbovirus mediated disease, caused by the Chikungunya virus and transmitted by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, mostly Aedes aegypti, a species with anthropophilic and cosmopolitan behavior. Brazil presents several predisposing factors to the occurrence of large epidemics, considering the wide diffusion of the vector throughout the Brazilian territory, favored by the tropical climate. Published studies demonstrate the occurrence of neurological manifestations in pediatric cases, from febrile seizures to meningeal syndrome, acute encephalopathy and encephalitis. Epigenetic processes act intensely in the control of gene expression, assuring temporal and tissue-specific gene regulation. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are an important epigenetic players involved in several cellular functions, acting in recruitment of transcriptional regulators; stabilizing messenger RNAs by recruiting proteins, preventing degradation; among other. This work aims to identify known lncRNAs and to search for potential lncRNAs that are differentially expressed between the acute phase of the disease and convalescence in sequencing data previously obtained from whole blood samples from pediatric patients.