Zika virus (
ZIKV) is an
arbovirus belonging to the genus
Flavivirus (
Flaviviridae).
ZIKV infection is associated with alterations in various organs, including the
liver,
lungs, and
kidneys. Studies on the influence of posttranscriptional control on
viral infections have demonstrated that
microRNAs (
miRNAs) interfere with different stages of the replicative cycle of several
viruses and may influence the
disease outcome. To shed
light on
ZIKV-induced
regulation of host
miRNA-processing
machinery in the above organs, we analyzed the expression of
genes encoding key
proteins of the
miRNA pathway in different
ZIKV-infected continuous
primate cell lineages (HepG2, A549, and MA104) by reverse-transcription quantitative
polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Expression of the
genes encoding the
miRNA-related
proteins DGCR8, Ago1, and Ago3 in
HepG2 cells and Drosha, Dicer, Ago2, and Ago3 in A549 and MA104
cells was significantly altered in the presence of
ZIKV. Our results suggest that
ZIKV modulates
miRNA levels during
infection in
liver,
lung, and
kidney cells, which may be an additional mechanism of host
cell subversion in these organs.