Computational Screening to Predict MicroRNA Targets in the Flavivirus 3' UTR Genome: An Approach for Antiviral Development

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are molecules that influence messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels by binding to the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of target genes. Host miRNAs can influence flavivirus replication, either by inducing changes in the host transcriptome or by directly binding to viral g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of molecular sciences 2024-09, Vol.25 (18), p.10135
Main Authors: Avila-Bonilla, Rodolfo Gamaliel, Salas-Benito, Juan Santiago
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3' Untranslated Regions - genetics
3′ UTR
Animals
Antiviral Agents - pharmacology
computational analysis
Computational Biology - methods
Culicidae - genetics
Culicidae - virology
Dengue fever
Flavivirus - genetics
Flavivirus Infections - genetics
Flavivirus Infections - virology
flaviviruses
Genome, Viral
Health aspects
Humans
Immunological research
MicroRNA
MicroRNAs
MicroRNAs - genetics
MicroRNAs - metabolism
Mosquitoes
Physiological aspects
Viral vaccines
Virus Replication - genetics
Viruses
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Summary:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are molecules that influence messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels by binding to the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of target genes. Host miRNAs can influence flavivirus replication, either by inducing changes in the host transcriptome or by directly binding to viral genomes. The 3' UTR of the flavivirus genome is a conserved region crucial for viral replication. Cells might exploit this well-preserved region by generating miRNAs that interact with it, ultimately impacting viral replication. Despite significant efforts to identify miRNAs capable of arresting viral replication, the potential of all these miRNAs to interact with the flavivirus 3' UTR is still poorly characterised. In this context, bioinformatic tools have been proposed as a fundamental part of accelerating the discovery of interactions between miRNAs and the 3' UTR of viral genomes. In this study, we performed a computational analysis to reveal potential miRNAs from human and mosquito species that bind to the 3' UTR of flaviviruses. In humans, miR-6842 and miR-661 were found, while in mosquitoes, miR-9-C, miR-2945-5p, miR-11924, miR-282-5p, and miR-79 were identified. These findings open new avenues for studying these miRNAs as antivirals against flavivirus infections.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms251810135