The regulation of lncRNAs and miRNAs in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a global endemic that continues to cause a large number of severe illnesses and fatalities. There is increasing evidence that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are crucial regulators of viral infection and antiviral immune response and the role of non-coding RNAs in SARS-CoV-2 infection has now become the focus of scholarly inquiry. After SARS-CoV-2 infection, some ncRNAs’ expression levels are regulated to indirectly control the expression of antiviral genes and viral gene replication. However, some other ncRNAs are hijacked by SARS-CoV-2 in order to help the virus evade the immune system by suppressing the expression of type I interferon (IFN-1) and controlling cytokine levels. In this review, we summarize the recent findings of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) among non-coding RNAs in SARS-CoV-2 infection and antiviral response, discuss the potential mechanisms of actions, and prospects for the detection, treatment, prevention and future directions of SARS-CoV-2 infection research.

Increased Expression of lncRNA AC000120.7 and SENP3-EIF4A1 in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Induced by SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Pilot Study

“…Moreover, certain lncRNAs enhance innate immune activation and inflammatory responses, such as lnc02384, which promotes IFN-γ synthesis. Additionally, lncRNAs like NORAD, RAD51-AS1, GAS5, NEAT1, and MALAT1 appear to regulate cytokine and chemokine expression, contributing to cytokine storms [ 11 ]. While these findings offer insights into lncRNAs’ roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection, further research is required to uncover precise mechanisms.…”

“…These lncRNAs have emerged as promising targets for clinical and therapeutic research [ 10 ]. SARS-CoV-2 studies have shown an association between lncRNA expression patterns and the severity of infection [ 11 ]. However, the number of studies exploring this relationship remains low, highlighting a knowledge gap that needs to be addressed [ 12 ].…”

Long COVID: Molecular Mechanisms and Detection Techniques

“…For instance, a study on the peripheral immune response in COVID-19 patients identified significant changes in the transcriptional landscape, including the expression of specific lncRNAs [ 63 ]. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of bronchial epithelial cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 highlighted the role of interferons and the significant changes in the expression of both protein-coding and lncRNAs [ 64 ], suggesting their potential role in modulating the cellular response to SARS-CoV-2. While only a small part of the genome encodes for translated gene products, a significant fraction is transcribed into a large variety of RNA species.…”

Regulatory Non-Coding RNAs during Porcine Viral Infections: Potential Targets for Antiviral Therapy

“…Host cells sense viral infections through various pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and initiate innate immune responses [ 21 ], especially activation of the IFN response to produce a variety of antiviral proteins such as RSAD2 and Mx1 to fight against viral infections [ 22 ]. However, many viruses have evolved various strategies to evade host immunity, such as inhibiting the IFN response by interacting with proteins at various stages of the IFN pathway, regulating the IFN pathway by phosphorylating or ubiquitylating key signal transduction proteins of the IFN pathway such as STING and MAVS, or hijacking host regulators, including transcription factors and regulatory ncRNAs, to regulate the IFN response [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. ncRNAs, as a class of key factors regulating immune responses, have also been widely investigated for their roles in regulating porcine viral infections.…”