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Overexpressing Long Noncoding RNAs Using Gene-activating CRISPR
Published on: March 1, 2019
Idiosyncrasies of Viral Noncoding RNAs Provide Insights into Host Cell Biology
Johanna B Withers1,2, Vanessa Mondol1, Paulina Pawlica1
1Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06536, USA; email: johanna.withers@yale.edu, vanessa.mondol@yale.edu, paulina.pawlica@yale.edu, nicolle.rosa-mercado@yale.edu, ktt@yale.edu, salehe.ghasempur@yale.edu, seyed.torabi@yale.edu, joan.steitz@yale.edu.
Abstract:
Like their host cells, many viruses express noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). Despite the technical challenge of ascribing function to ncRNAs, diverse biological roles for virally expressed ncRNAs have been described, including regulation of viral replication, modulation of host gene expression, host immune evasion, cellular survival, and cellular transformation. Insights into conserved interactions between viral ncRNAs and host cell machinery frequently lead to novel findings concerning host cell biology. In this review, we discuss the functions and biogenesis of ncRNAs produced by animal viruses. Specifically, we describe noncanonical pathways of microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis and novel mechanisms used by viruses to manipulate miRNA and messenger RNA stability. We also highlight recent advances in understanding the function of viral long ncRNAs and circular RNAs.
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