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Review
. 2022 Sep 11;23(18):10536.
doi: 10.3390/ijms231810536.

Micro-Players of Great Significance-Host microRNA Signature in Viral Infections in Humans and Animals

Ewa Ostrycharz  1   2   3 , Beata Hukowska-Szematowicz  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Micro-Players of Great Significance-Host microRNA Signature in Viral Infections in Humans and Animals

Ewa Ostrycharz et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Over time, more and more is becoming known about micro-players of great significance. This is particularly the case for microRNAs (miRNAs; miR), which have been found to participate in the regulation of many physiological and pathological processes in both humans and animals. One such process is viral infection in humans and animals, in which the host miRNAs-alone or in conjunction with the virus-interact on two levels: viruses may regulate the host's miRNAs to evade its immune system, while the host miRNAs can play anti- or pro-viral roles. The purpose of this comprehensive review is to present the key miRNAs involved in viral infections in humans and animals. We summarize the data in the available literature, indicating that the signature miRNAs in human viral infections mainly include 12 miRNAs (i.e., miR-155, miR-223, miR-146a, miR-122, miR-125b, miR-132, miR-34a, miR -21, miR-16, miR-181 family, let-7 family, and miR-10a), while 10 miRNAs are commonly found in animals (i.e., miR-155, miR-223, miR-146a, miR-145, miR-21, miR-15a/miR-16 cluster, miR-181 family, let-7 family, and miR-122) in this context. Knowledge of which miRNAs are involved in different viral infections and the biological functions that they play can help in understanding the pathogenesis of viral diseases, facilitating the future development of therapeutic agents for both humans and animals.

Keywords: Lagovirus europaeus/RHDV; Marek’s disease virus; foot-and-mouth disease virus; hemorrhagic viruses; hepatitis viruses; microRNA; porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus; rabies virus; respiratory viruses; viral infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biogenesis and functions of microRNA in humans and animals. MiRNA genes are transcribed in the cell nucleus to pri-miRNA, then, transformed to pre-miRNA by Drosha. Then, the pre-miRNA is transported to the cytoplasm by Exportin5 and cleaved to create an miRNA duplex containing the mature miRNA. After strand separation, the single-stranded mature miRNAs are incorporated into the miRNA-induced silencing complex. The resulting complex mediates the recognition of target mRNA and participates in gene silencing via translation repression or mRNA cleavage.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Key miRNAs: (A) in human viral infections and (B) in animal viral infections.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Signature of miRNAs ocu-miR-155-5p, ocu-miR-16b-5p, and ocu-miR-122-5p in the course of Lagovirus europaeus/RHDV infection [347].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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This research received no external funding.