MicroRNAs, Hepatitis C Virus, and HCV/HIV-1 Co-Infection: New Insights in Pathogenesis and Therapy

Viruses 2012, 4(11), 2485-2513; doi:10.3390/v4112485

Review
MicroRNAs, Hepatitis C Virus, and HCV/HIV-1 Co-Infection: New Insights in Pathogenesis and Therapy

Archana Gupta ^1,2,3,4,† , Gokul Swaminathan ^1,2,3,† , Julio Martin-Garcia ^1,3 and Sonia Navas-Martin ^1,3,*

¹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA ² Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA ³ Center for Molecular Virology and Translational Neuroscience, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA ⁴ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA ^† These authors contributed equally to this work.

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Received: 31 August 2012; in revised form: 17 October 2012 / Accepted: 18 October 2012 / Published: 26 October 2012

 

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viruses and miRNAs)

 

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Abstract:

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can exert a profound effect on Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication. The interaction of HCV with the highly liver-enriched miRNA, miR-122 represents one such unique example of viruses having evolved mechanism(s) to usurp the host miRNA machinery to support viral life cycle. Furthermore, HCV infection can also trigger changes in the cellular miRNA profile, which may ultimately contribute to the outcome of viral infection. Accumulating knowledge on HCV-host miRNA interactions has ultimately influenced the design of therapeutic interventions against chronic HCV infection. The importance of microRNA modulation in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) replication has been reported, albeit only in the context of HIV-1 mono-infection. The development of HCV infection is dramatically influenced during co-infection with HIV-1. Here, we review the current knowledge on miRNAs in HCV mono-infection. In addition, we discuss the potential role of some miRNAs, identified from the analyses of public data, in HCV/HIV-1 co-infection.

 

Keywords: microRNA; miR-122, exosomes, HCV; hepatitis C virus; hepatitis; antiviral response; HIV-1; HIV-1/HCV co-infection; antagomir; therapeutics