DETECTION OF microRNAS FOR THE MICA TARGET GENE IN CIRCULATING PLASMA FROM HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS

• Grant number: 25/02796-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Immunogenetics
• Principal Investigator: Camila Ferreira Bannwart Castro
• Grantee: Maria Beatriz Nicoletti
• Host Institution: Centro Universitário Sudoeste Paulista. Avaré , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The MICA and MICB genes are encoded within the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC), considered the most polymorphic region of the genome. These genes encode glycosylated membrane proteins, which are presented in situations of cellular stress and interact with the NKG2D activating receptor, present in Natural killer (NK) and CD8+ T cells. However, MICA/B can present itself in two isoforms: on the surface, which results in the activation of NK cells, or soluble, which will internalize this receptor, inhibiting NK activity. The duality of this interaction and the scarcity of studies on its behavior from the perspective of epigenetics contributed to defining the objective of the project, which will be to standardize the search for microRNAs that act on the MICA gene present in the plasma of healthy individuals. After the bioinformatics pipeline, the main microRNAs acting in MICA will be defined. These microRNAs will be investigated in 20 samples from healthy individuals with known MICA alleles and ancestry profile, from previous laboratory projects. These qPCR analyzes will be carried out using the SyBr green method after extracting microRNAs from plasma using a specific kit. These results could directly contribute to a better understanding of the expression of these molecules according to the type of allele and in relation to post-transcriptional regulations, and could strongly contribute to the improvement of diagnoses, disease tracking and definition of immunotherapies, especially in mixed-race populations.