Regulation of Latency and Reactivation by Human Cytomegalovirus miRNAs

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 200
• Main Authors: Diggins, Nicole L, Skalsky, Rebecca L, Hancock, Meaghan H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13-02-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Attenuation; Binding sites; Bone marrow; CD34 antigen; Cell cycle; Cells (biology); Cytomegalovirus; Epidermal growth factor receptors; Fibroblasts; Gene expression; Genomes; Hematopoietic stem cells; Infections; Latency; miRNA; Non-coding RNA; Progenitor cells; Proteins; Review; RNA polymerase; Roles; Signaling; Transplants & implants; Viruses; miRNA; signaling; cytomegalovirus; latency
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10020200

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes 22 mature microRNAs (miRNAs), which regulate a myriad of cellular processes, including vesicular trafficking, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and immune evasion, as well as viral gene expression. Recent evidence points to a critical role for HCMV miRNAs in mediating latency in CD34
hematopoietic progenitor cells through modulation of cellular signaling pathways, including attenuation of TGFβ and EGFR signaling. Moreover, HCMV miRNAs can act in concert with, or in opposition to, viral proteins in regulating host cell functions. Here, we comprehensively review the studies of HCMV miRNAs in the context of latency and highlight the novel processes that are manipulated by the virus using these small non-coding RNAs.