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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Plaquing of Herpes Simplex Viruses
Published on: November 5, 2021
Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Deregulation of Host MicroRNAs
Maja Cokarić Brdovčak1, Andreja Zubković2, Igor Jurak3
1Laboratory for Molecular Virology, Department of Biotechnology, University of Rijeka, R. Matejčić 2, HR-51000 Rijeka, Croatia. maja.cokaric@biotech.uniri.hr.
Abstract:
Viruses utilize microRNAs (miRNAs) in a vast variety of possible interactions and mechanisms, apparently far beyond the classical understanding of gene repression in humans. Likewise, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) expresses numerous miRNAs and deregulates the expression of host miRNAs. Several HSV-1 miRNAs are abundantly expressed in latency, some of which are encoded antisense to transcripts of important productive infection genes, indicating their roles in repressing the productive cycle and/or in maintenance/reactivation from latency. In addition, HSV-1 also exploits host miRNAs to advance its replication or repress its genes to facilitate latency. Here, we discuss what is known about the functional interplay between HSV-1 and the host miRNA machinery, potential targets, and the molecular mechanisms leading to an efficient virus replication and spread.
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