AUTHOR=Tsunetsugu-Yokota Yasuko , Yamamoto Takuya 

TITLE=Mammalian MicroRNAs: Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation in RNA Virus Infection and Therapeutic Applications

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=1

YEAR=2010

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2010.00108

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2010.00108

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>RNA silencing mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) is a recently discovered gene regulatory mechanism involved in various aspects of biology, such as development, cell differentiation and proliferation, and innate immunity against viral infections. miRNAs, which are a class of small (21–25 nucleotides) RNAs, target messenger RNA (mRNA) through incomplete base-pairing with their target sequences resulting in mRNA degradation or translational repression. Although studies of miRNAs have led to numerous sensational discoveries in biology, many fundamental questions about their expression and function still remain. In this review, we discuss the dynamics of the mammalian miRNA machinery and the biological function of miRNAs, focusing on RNA viruses and the various therapeutic applications of miRNAs against viral infections.</p>