Title:Viral MicroRNAs: Interfering the Interferon Signaling
Volume: 26
Issue: 4
Author(s): Imran Ahmad, Araceli Valverde, Hasan Siddiqui, Samantha Schaller and Afsar R. Naqvi*
Affiliation:
- Mucosal Immunology Lab, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, IL 60612,United States
Keywords:
Viruses, viral microRNA, interferons, post-transcriptional silencing, immune response, JAK-STAT.
Abstract: Interferons are secreted cytokines with potent antiviral, antitumor and immunomodulatory functions.
As the first line of defense against viruses, this pathway restricts virus infection and spread. On the contrary,
viruses have evolved ingenious strategies to evade host immune responses including the interferon pathway.
Multiple families of viruses, in particular, DNA viruses, encode microRNA (miR) that are small, non-protein
coding, regulatory RNAs. Virus-derived miRNAs (v-miR) function by targeting host and virus-encoded transcripts
and are critical in shaping host-pathogen interaction. The role of v-miRs in viral pathogenesis is emerging
as demonstrated by their function in subverting host defense mechanisms and regulating fundamental biological
processes such as cell survival, proliferation, modulation of viral life-cycle phase. In this review, we will discuss
the role of v-miRs in the suppression of host genes involved in the viral nucleic acid detection, JAK-STAT pathway,
and cytokine-mediated antiviral gene activation to favor viral replication and persistence. This information
has yielded new insights into our understanding of how v-miRs promote viral evasion of host immunity and likely
provide novel antiviral therapeutic targets.
