The relationship between miR-340 and NOD2 may play an important role in Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced meningitis

Abstract

Abstract Bacterial meningitis is a serious infection of the central nervous system in children, with a high mortality rate of 12 % - 35 %. Two-thirds of bacterial meningitis cases in Europe and the United States are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. In this study, the overexpression of miR-340 and the knockdown of NOD2 could attenuate the microglial inflammation induced by Streptococcus pneumoniae and improve the nerve function in Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced meningitis mice. In contrast, inhibited miR-340 and overexpression of NOD2 had the opposite effects. Dual-luciferase reporter assay and recovery experiments showed that miR-340 could reduce the microglial inflammation induced by Streptococcus pneumoniae and improve the neurological damage caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae with regulating the expression of NOD2. MiR-340 and NOD2 may become the site of targeted therapy for Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis.