Tiny Regulators in Viral Infection: Carving SARS-CoV-2 by miRNAs

Abstract

Viruses are microscopic biological entities that can cause diseases. Viruses require a host cell to replicate and generate progeny. Once inside, viruses hijack the main cellular machinery for their benefit, disrupting cell functions and causing detrimental effects on cell physiology. MicroRNAs are short, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. Recent works have shown that cell-miRNAs can modulate antiviral defense during viral infection, and viruses can disrupt these existing miRNA networks. Furthermore, multiple RNA viruses encode their own miRNAs to evade the host immune response. In this review, we analyze the activities of both, miRNAs as pro-viral modulators and miRNAs as anti-viral agents and their relationship with the development of the disease.

Keywords: MicroRNA; RNA viruses; SARS-CoV-2; cytokine; storm; v-miRNAs features; viral-microRNA.