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Review
. 2009 Mar;37(4):1035-48.
doi: 10.1093/nar/gkn1004. Epub 2008 Dec 18.

Cellular versus viral microRNAs in host-virus interaction

Zhumur Ghosh  1 , Bibekanand Mallick, Jayprokas Chakrabarti
Affiliations
Review

Cellular versus viral microRNAs in host-virus interaction

Zhumur Ghosh et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) mark a new paradigm of RNA-directed gene expression regulation in a wide spectrum of biological systems. These small non-coding RNAs can contribute to the repertoire of host-pathogen interactions during viral infection. This interplay has important consequences, both for the virus and the host. There have been reported evidences of host-cellular miRNAs modulating the expression of various viral genes, thereby playing a pivotal role in the host-pathogen interaction network. In the hide-and-seek game between the pathogens and the infected host, viruses have evolved highly sophisticated gene-silencing mechanisms to evade host-immune response. Recent reports indicate that virus too encode miRNAs that protect them against cellular antiviral response. Furthermore, they may exploit the cellular miRNA pathway to their own advantage. Nevertheless, our increasing knowledge of the host-virus interaction at the molecular level should lead us toward possible explanations to viral tropism, latency and oncogenesis along with the development of an effective, durable and nontoxic antiviral therapy. Here, we summarize the recent updates on miRNA-induced gene-silencing mechanism, modulating host-virus interactions with a glimpse of the miRNA-based antiviral therapy for near future.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Biogenesis of microRNAs. Processing of both host miRNAs (violet) and virus-encoded miRNAs (blue) is assumed to occur through the same pathway. The arrows (pink) indicate the effects of cellular miRNAs on their own cellular transcripts as well as on viral transcripts. The violet arrow shows the effects of virus-encoded miRNAs on both cellular and viral transcripts. Both these arrows suggest possible miRNA-mediated interactions between viruses and their hosts.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Virus-encoded microRNAs as orthologs of cellular microRNAs. Encircled boxes show sequence homology of viral miRNAs to human/mouse miRNAs. The homologous bases are shown in blue. (a) Orthologs of cellular miR-155; (b) orthologs of cellular miR-151; (c) orthologs of cellular miR-18a and miR-18b.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Effects of virus-encoded microRNAs on viral and cellular transcripts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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