Abstract
Intercellular communication occurring by cell-to-cell contacts and via secreted messengers trafficked through extracellular vehicles is critical for regulating biological functions of multicellular organisms. Recent research has revealed that non-coding RNAs can be found in extracellular vesicles consistent with a functional importance of these molecular vehicles in virus propagation and suggesting that these essential membrane-bound bodies can be highjacked by viruses to promote disease pathogenesis. Newly emerging evidence that coronaviruses generate non-coding RNAs and use extracellular vesicles to facilitate viral pathogenicity may have important implications for the development of effective strategies to combat COVID-19, a disease caused by infection with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. This article provides a short overview of our current understanding of the interactions between non-coding RNAs and extracellular vesicles and highlights recent research which supports these interactions as potential therapeutic targets in the development of novel antiviral therapies.
Highlights
IntroductionNon-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) constitute ~90% of the human transcriptome. Despite the ubiquitous nature of ncRNA expression, most early research into their functions focused on large ribosomal
Non-coding RNAs constitute ~90% of the human transcriptome
These conserved non-coding components of ribosomes are crucial for the binding of messenger RNAs, recruitment of aminoacylated transfer RNAs, and catalyzation of the peptide bond between two amino acids [1,2]
Summary
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) constitute ~90% of the human transcriptome. Despite the ubiquitous nature of ncRNA expression, most early research into their functions focused on large ribosomal. Some of the affected genes encode ncRNAs that appear to be important components of the switch to a virus-induced pathogenic transcriptome within the host. Xu and co-workers [12] explored these interactions by RNA-seq analysis of transcriptomes in cells experimentally infected by human foamy virus and identified 4729 lncRNAs that were upregulated and 6588 that were downregulated in response to infection illustrating the significant impact that this virus has upon the host transcriptome. Given the emerging roles of ncRNAs and EV trafficking in viral pathogenesis, especially in the context of the current renewed impetus to search for novel strategies that could prevent global pandemics such as COVID-19, a disease caused by infection with the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, we review studies that provide a clearer understanding of the interactions between ncRNAs and EVs and highlight the potential that such trafficking may represent a novel target for the development of effective antiviral therapies
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