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Non-coding RNA: a key regulator of the pathogenicity and immunity of Flaviviridae viruses infection

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 15, pages 185–186 (2018)Cite this article

Flaviviridae is a family of viruses that mainly spread through arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes. Major members of the Flaviviridae family include dengue virus (DENV), yellow fever virus, Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV). As Flaviviridae viruses remain a major global public health threat, elucidation of the exact mechanisms of pathogenesis during infection is required for the successful control of these deadly viruses.

In addition to miRNAs, other non-coding RNAs, such as long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs and PIWI-interacting RNAs, may play critical roles in Flaviviridae virus infections.4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Further studies are required to elucidate the expression profiles of non-coding RNAs and their roles (Figure 1). It is also worth mentioning that the expression levels of several miRNAs, including miRNA-378, are variable in severe cases of human DENV infection; it remains unclear how these miRNAs and other non-coding RNAs act to regulate T-cell, B-cell and monocyte function.

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Figure 1

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Acknowledgements

GZ is supported by a National Key R&D Program of China Grant (2016YFE0106900), NSFC grants (81622029, 31670879 and 81361120379), a Guangdong Natural Science Foundation Grant (2015A030306028) and a Guangzhou Commission for Science and Technology Innovation Grant (201506010034).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Zhiyi Zhang, Lifang Jiang & Gucheng Zeng

  2. Key Laboratory for Tropical Diseases Control of the Ministry of Education, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Zhiyi Zhang, Lifang Jiang & Gucheng Zeng

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Correspondence to Gucheng Zeng.

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Zhang, Z., Jiang, L. & Zeng, G. Non-coding RNA: a key regulator of the pathogenicity and immunity of Flaviviridae viruses infection. Cell Mol Immunol 15, 185–186 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2017.86

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