Roles of host and viral microRNAs in human cytomegalovirus biology

Identification and function of human cytomegalovirus microRNAs.

microRNAs are an extensive class of non-coding genes that regulate gene expression through post-transcriptional repression. These small RNAs are evolutionarily conserved and are likely to be a basic mechanism of gene regulation present within most eukaryotic organisms. Over 100 viral miRNAs have been identified to date through a combination of bioinformatics and cloning studies. In this review ...

Emerging roles of chicken and viral microRNAs in avian disease

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs are short RNAs (~22 nt) expressed by plants, animals and viruses that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally, and their importance is highlighted by distinct patterns of expression in many physiological processes, including development, hematopoeisis, stress resistance, and disease. Our group has characterized the microRNAs encoded by the avian herpesviruses; namel...

Novel Human Cytomegalovirus Viral

Dendritic cell biology in human cytomegalovirus infection and the clinical consequences for host immunity and pathology

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a member of the herpesvirus family, establishes life-long persistence and latency after primary infection and can be reactivated later in life. In immunosuppressed patients, it is an important pathogen that can cause severe disease. HCMV is also thought to play a causative role in inflammatory diseases and cancer. The virus can infect different immune cells, includ...

Physiological and Pathological Roles for MicroRNAs: Implications for Immunity Complications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding regulatory RNAs molecules with a size of approximately 22 nucleotides that are implicated in regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional regulatory levels. Inflammatory disorders especially autoimmune diseases (ADs) occur from an abnormal immune response of body against cells of their own specific tissues or multiple organ systems leading to ch...