title: microRNAs are ligands of Toll-like receptors.
abstract: It has long been known that microRNAs (miRNAs) can regulate target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Recent studies, however, have revealed that miRNAs can also be transported from donor cells to recipient cells, in which these RNAs function in a novel manner as ligands of Toll-like receptors. Here, we review the latest findings on these unconventional miRNAs, with special emphasis on their biological significance.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China. xichen@nju.edu.cn
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zen
authors.forename: Chen-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D055354:Exosomes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051199:Toll-Like Receptor 7 / Q000378:metabolism; D051200:Toll-Like Receptor 8 / Q000378:metabolism*; D014780:Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012367:RNA, Viral; C495349:TLR8 protein, human; C477038:Tlr7 protein, mouse; D051199:Toll-Like Receptor 7; D051200:Toll-Like Receptor 8; C487931:mirnlet7 microRNA, human
keywords: Toll-like receptor; exosome; ligand; microRNA
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