American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology
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Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. · Sep 2020
SARS-CoV-2 may regulate cellular responses through depletion of specific host miRNAs.
Cold viruses have generally been considered fairly innocuous until the appearance of the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019, which caused the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Two previous viruses foreshadowed that a coronavirus could potentially have devastating consequences in 2002 [severe acute respiratory coronavirus (SARS-CoV)] and in 2012 [Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)]. ⋯ On the basis of an analysis of the current literature and using bioinformatic approaches, we examined the potential human miRNA interactions with the SARS-CoV-2's genome and compared the miRNA target sites in seven coronavirus genomes that include SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and four nonpathogenic coronaviruses. Here, we discuss the possibility that pathogenic human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, could modulate host miRNA levels by acting as miRNA sponges to facilitate viral replication and/or to avoid immune responses.