title: Viral miRNAs and immune evasion.
abstract: Viral miRNAs, ~22nt RNA molecules which post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression, are emerging as important tools in immune evasion. Viral infection is a complex process that requires immune evasion in order to establish persistent life-long infection of the host. During this process viruses express both protein-coding and non-coding genes, which help to modulate the cellular environment making it more favorable for infection. In the last decade, it was uncovered that DNA viruses express a diverse and abundant pool of small non-coding RNA molecules, called microRNAs (miRNAs). These virally encoded miRNAs are non-immunogenic and therefore are important tools used to evade both innate and adaptive immune responses. This review aims to summarize our current knowledge of herpesvirus- and polyomavirus-encoded miRNAs, and how they contribute to immune evasion by targeting viral and/or host cellular genes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: MicroRNAs in viral gene regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL, USA. iboss@ufl.edu
authors.forename: Isaac W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Boss
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Renne
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011120:Polyomavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D012367:RNA, Viral