Comparison analysis of microRNAs in response to dengue virus type 2 infection between the Vero cell-adapted strain and its source, the clinical C6/36 isolated strain

•It was the first report to identify miRNAs that were differentially regulated DENV-2-Vero and DENV-2-C6/36 infection in Vero cells.•Our results indicated that the regulation of cell death and apoptosis between DENV-2-Vero and DENV-2-C6/36 were different in the early stage of infection.•DENV-2-Vero infection could partially alleviate the immune defense of Vero cells compared with DENV-2-C6/36.•The distinct microRNA changes induced by two DENV-2 strains may be partly related to their infective abilities. To elucidate the differences in microRNAs during dengue virus infection between Vero cell-adapted strain (DENV-2-Vero) and its source, the clinical C6/36 isolated strain (DENV-2-C6/36), a comparison analysis was performed in Vero cells by high throughput sequencing. The results showed that the expression of 16 known and 3 novel miRNAs exhibited marked differences. 5 known miRNAs were up-regulated in DENV-2-C6/36 group, while 11 known microRNAs were down-regulated in DENV-2-Vero group. The GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis showed that there was a distinct difference in regulating viral replication between two strains. In DENV-2-Vero infection group, significantly enriched GO terms included virion attachment to host cells, viral structural protein/genome processing and packaging. Meanwhile, the regulation of cell death and apoptosis between two groups were different in the early stage of infection. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that DENV-2-C6/36 infection induced more intense regulation of immune-related pathways, including Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, etc. DENV-2-Vero infection could partially alleviate the immune defense of Vero cells compared with DENV-2-C6/36. The results indicated that the distinct microRNA changes induced by two DENV-2 strains may be partly related to their infective abilities. Our data provide useful insights that help elucidate the host-pathogen interactions following DENV infection.