[Frontiers in Bioscience S3, 1032-1037, June 1, 2011]

MicroRNA-122: a Therapeutic Target For Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection

Giuseppe Nunnari1,2, Matthias J Schnell2

1Department of Medicine and Medical Specialties, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Catania, Catania, Italy, 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. How Does MiRNA Affect The Life cycle Of HCV?
4. MiRNA-122: Clinical Correlations
5. Interferon Beta Down-regulates MiRNA-122
6. Inhibition Of MiRNA-122 In vitro
7. Inhibition Of MiRNA-122 In vivo
8. Conclusions
9. References

1. ABSTRACT

Hepatitis C virus infection is the main cause of liver disease worldwide, often leading to chronic hepatitis. Recent studies have demonstrated that miRNA-122, a liver-specific miRNA, is required for HCV replication in hepatocytes by its binding to the 5' UTR of HCV. Down-regulation of miRNA-122 in vitro and in vivo has led to significant inhibition of viral replication. In the present article, we report the major recent findings on the potential therapeutic role of anti-miRNA-122 molecules.