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Review
. 2021 Jan;20(2):143-153.
doi: 10.1080/15384101.2020.1867792. Epub 2020 Dec 31.

MicroRNAs and SARS-CoV-2 life cycle, pathogenesis, and mutations: biomarkers or therapeutic agents?

Farshad Abedi  1 , Ramin Rezaee  2   3 , A Wallace Hayes  4   5 , Somayyeh Nasiripour  6 , Gholamreza Karimi  1   7
Affiliations
Review

MicroRNAs and SARS-CoV-2 life cycle, pathogenesis, and mutations: biomarkers or therapeutic agents?

Farshad Abedi et al. Cell Cycle. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

To date, proposed therapies and antiviral drugs have been failed to cure coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. However, at least two drug companies have applied for emergency use authorization with the United States Food and Drug Administration for their coronavirus vaccine candidates and several other vaccines are in various stages of development to determine safety and efficacy. Recently, some studies have shown the role of different human and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathophysiology of COVID-19. miRNAs are non-coding single-stranded RNAs, which are involved in several physiological and pathological conditions, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and metabolism. They act as negative regulators of protein synthesis through binding to the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of the complementary target mRNA, leading to mRNA degradation or inhibition. The databases of Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched for literature regarding the importance of miRNAs in the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle, pathogenesis, and genomic mutations. Furthermore, promising miRNAs as a biomarker or antiviral agent in COVID-19 therapy are reviewed.

Keywords: COVID-19; MicroRNA; SARS-CoV-2; patogenecity; virus.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Some important miRNAs in SARS-CoV-2 life cycle and pathogenesis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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