MicroRNAs: Biological Regulators in Pathogen-Host Interactions

Overview

Journal Cells

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Biophysics
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2020 Jan 8

PMID 31906500

Citations 40

Authors

Stephanie Maia Acuna

Lucile Maria Floeter-Winter

Sandra Marcia Muxel

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

An inflammatory response is essential for combating invading pathogens. Several effector components, as well as immune cell populations, are involved in mounting an immune response, thereby destroying pathogenic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. In the past decade, microRNAs (miRNAs), a group of noncoding small RNAs, have emerged as functionally significant regulatory molecules with the significant capability of fine-tuning biological processes. The important role of miRNAs in inflammation and immune responses is highlighted by studies in which the regulation of miRNAs in the host was shown to be related to infectious diseases and associated with the eradication or susceptibility of the infection. Here, we review the biological aspects of microRNAs, focusing on their roles as regulators of gene expression during pathogen-host interactions and their implications in the immune response against , , , and infectious diseases.

Citing Articles

Understanding Host-Pathogen Interactions in Congenital Chagas Disease Through Transcriptomic Approaches.

Caceres T, Patino L, Ramirez J Pathogens. 2025; 14(2).

PMID: 40005483 PMC: 11858232. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens14020106.

The microRNA landscape and regulatory network in Clonorchis sinensis-infected hepatocellular carcinoma: implications for tumor progression.

Wei C, Chen J, Huang T, Zhou L, Xu Y, Lin Q Parasit Vectors. 2025; 18(1):68.

PMID: 39985046 PMC: 11846337. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-025-06689-z.

Exploring Strategies to Prevent and Treat Ovarian Cancer in Terms of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants.

Long Y, Shi H, Ye J, Qi X Antioxidants (Basel). 2025; 14(1).

PMID: 39857448 PMC: 11762571. DOI: 10.3390/antiox14010114.

An integrated bioinformatic analysis of microarray datasets to identify biomarkers and miRNA-based regulatory networks in leishmaniasis.

Savardashtaki A, Alashti S, Vafadar A, Sadeghi M, Baneshi M, Hashemi K Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):12981.

PMID: 38839916 PMC: 11153516. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63462-5.

MicroRNAs as Key Regulators in RA and SLE: Insights into Biological Functions.

Li X, Zhao C, Wei H, Li S, Tang J, Zhu Y Curr Pharm Des. 2024; 30(22):1746-1761.

PMID: 38798216 DOI: 10.2174/0113816128303695240512141729.

References

Gregory D, Olivier M . Subversion of host cell signalling by the protozoan parasite Leishmania. Parasitology. 2005; 130 Suppl:S27-35. DOI: 10.1017/S0031182005008139. View

Koralov S, Muljo S, Galler G, Krek A, Chakraborty T, Kanellopoulou C . Dicer ablation affects antibody diversity and cell survival in the B lymphocyte lineage. Cell. 2008; 132(5):860-74. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2008.02.020. View

Kratz J, Bournissen F, Forsyth C, Sosa-Estani S . Clinical and pharmacological profile of benznidazole for treatment of Chagas disease. Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. 2018; 11(10):943-957. DOI: 10.1080/17512433.2018.1509704. View

Lythgoe K, Morrison L, Read A, Barry J . Parasite-intrinsic factors can explain ordered progression of trypanosome antigenic variation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104(19):8095-100. PMC: 1876577. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0606206104. View

He J, Ma J, Wang J, Xu M, Zhu X . Analysis of miRNA expression profiling in mouse spleen affected by acute Toxoplasma gondii infection. Infect Genet Evol. 2015; 37:137-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2015.11.005. View

Lim L, Lau N, Garrett-Engele P, Grimson A, Schelter J, Castle J . Microarray analysis shows that some microRNAs downregulate large numbers of target mRNAs. Nature. 2005; 433(7027):769-73. DOI: 10.1038/nature03315. View

Kuo G, Wu C, Yang H . MiR-17-92 cluster and immunity. J Formos Med Assoc. 2018; 118(1 Pt 1):2-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.jfma.2018.04.013. View

Nonaka C, Macedo C, Cavalcante B, Alcantara A, Silva D, da Rocha Bezerra M . Circulating miRNAs as Potential Biomarkers Associated with Cardiac Remodeling and Fibrosis in Chagas Disease Cardiomyopathy. Int J Mol Sci. 2019; 20(16). PMC: 6721092. DOI: 10.3390/ijms20164064. View

Ben-Hamo R, Efroni S . MicroRNA regulation of molecular pathways as a generic mechanism and as a core disease phenotype. Oncotarget. 2015; 6(3):1594-604. PMC: 4359317. DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.2734. View

10.

Silva R, Langoni H . Toxoplasma gondii: host-parasite interaction and behavior manipulation. Parasitol Res. 2009; 105(4):893-8. DOI: 10.1007/s00436-009-1526-6. View

11.

Wanasen N, Soong L . L-arginine metabolism and its impact on host immunity against Leishmania infection. Immunol Res. 2007; 41(1):15-25. PMC: 2639710. DOI: 10.1007/s12026-007-8012-y. View

12.

Bernstein E, Caudy A, Hammond S, Hannon G . Role for a bidentate ribonuclease in the initiation step of RNA interference. Nature. 2001; 409(6818):363-6. DOI: 10.1038/35053110. View

13.

Degrossoli A, Bosetto M, Lima C, Giorgio S . Expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha in mononuclear phagocytes infected with Leishmania amazonensis. Immunol Lett. 2007; 114(2):119-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.imlet.2007.09.009. View

14.

Frank B, Marcu A, Petersen A, Weber H, Stigloher C, Mottram J . Autophagic digestion of Leishmania major by host macrophages is associated with differential expression of BNIP3, CTSE, and the miRNAs miR-101c, miR-129, and miR-210. Parasit Vectors. 2015; 8:404. PMC: 4521392. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-015-0974-3. View

15.

El-Assaad F, Hempel C, Combes V, Mitchell A, Ball H, Kurtzhals J . Differential microRNA expression in experimental cerebral and noncerebral malaria. Infect Immun. 2011; 79(6):2379-84. PMC: 3125837. DOI: 10.1128/IAI.01136-10. View

16.

Ulitsky I, Bartel D . lincRNAs: genomics, evolution, and mechanisms. Cell. 2013; 154(1):26-46. PMC: 3924787. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.06.020. View

17.

Hu R, He J, Elsheikha H, Zhang F, Zou Y, Zhao G . Differential Brain MicroRNA Expression Profiles After Acute and Chronic Infection of Mice With Oocysts. Front Microbiol. 2018; 9:2316. PMC: 6176049. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02316. View

18.

Mallick B, Ghosh Z, Chakrabarti J . MicroRNA switches in Trypanosoma brucei. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2008; 372(3):459-63. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2008.05.084. View

19.

Lagos-Quintana M, Rauhut R, Yalcin A, Meyer J, Lendeckel W, Tuschl T . Identification of tissue-specific microRNAs from mouse. Curr Biol. 2002; 12(9):735-9. DOI: 10.1016/s0960-9822(02)00809-6. View

20.

Guizetti J, Barcons-Simon A, Scherf A . Trans-acting GC-rich non-coding RNA at var expression site modulates gene counting in malaria parasite. Nucleic Acids Res. 2016; 44(20):9710-9718. PMC: 5175341. DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw664. View