Exploiting the Therapeutic Potential of MicroRNAs in Viral Diseases: Expectations and Limitations

Overview

Journal Mol Diagn Ther

Specialties Molecular Biology
Pathology
Pharmacology

Date 2010 Nov 9

PMID 21053993

Citations 15

Authors

Maged Gomaa Hemida

Xin Ye

Simone Thair

Decheng Yang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

New therapeutic approaches are urgently needed for serious diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, viral infections, and others. A recent direction in drug development is the utilization of nucleic acid-based therapeutic molecules, such as antisense oligonucleotides, ribozymes, short interfering RNA (siRNA), and microRNA (miRNA). miRNAs are endogenous, short, non-coding RNA molecules. Some viruses encode their own miRNAs, which play pivotal roles in viral replication and immune evasion strategies. Conversely, viruses that do not encode miRNAs may manipulate host cell miRNAs for the benefits of their replication. miRNAs have therefore become attractive tools for the study of viral pathogenesis. Lately, novel therapeutic strategies based on miRNA technology for the treatment of viral diseases have been progressing rapidly. Although this new generation of molecular therapy is promising, there are still several challenges to face, such as targeting delivery to specific tissues, avoiding off-target effects of miRNAs, reducing the toxicity of the drugs, and overcoming mutations and drug resistance. In this article, we review the current knowledge of the role and therapeutic potential of miRNAs in viral diseases, and discuss the limitations of these therapies, as well as strategies to overcome them to provide safe and effective clinical applications of these new therapeutics.

Citing Articles

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Human herpesvirus-encoded MicroRNA in host-pathogen interaction.

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