MicroRNAs in human virus genomes: helping hands for viral infection.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding regulatory RNAs that control essential cellular activities. Many viruses use these regulators to help infect host cells and maintain their presence in those cells. Therefore, virus-encoded miRNAs are important tools for viruses in the battle with their hosts. Knowledge of these miRNAs is essential for the development of new drugs to treat viral diseases and virus-associated cancers. In this minireview, the miRNAs encoded in viral genomes, their expression and functions, the interactions between viral and cellular miRNAs in viral diseases and virus- associated cancers, and the use of miRNAs for therapy are described.