Virus Laboratory, The Affiliated Shengjing Hospital, China Medical University, 110004 Shenyang, Liaoning, P.R. China.
J Biosci. 2013 Sep;38(3):479-85. doi: 10.1007/s12038-013-9353-4.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs, 19-23 nucleotides in length, which regulate a variety of cellular processes. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes only one intronic miRNA: human cytomegalovirus microRNA UL36 (hcmv-miR-UL36). In this study, we found that over-expression of hcmv-miR-UL36 resulted in a more than threefold increase in HCMV DNA synthesis at 24 h post infection. Fifteen putative targets of hcmv-miR-UL36 were identified using hybrid PCR, one being the HCMV UL138 gene that has previously been identified as a novel latency-associated determinant of HCMV infection. Down-regulation of UL138 expression by hcmv-miR-UL36 was validated using luciferase reporter assays and Western blot analysis in HEK293 cells. In the presence of hcmv-miR-UL36, we observed a 74.6 percent decrease in luciferase activity and a 46.2 percent decrease in HCMV UL138 protein expression. Our results indicate that hcmv-miR-UL36 may be a viral miRNA contributing to HCMV replication.
微小 RNA（miRNAs）是长度为 19-23 个核苷酸的小 RNA，可调节多种细胞过程。人类巨细胞病毒（HCMV）仅编码一个内含子 miRNA：人类巨细胞病毒 microRNA UL36（hcmv-miR-UL36）。在这项研究中，我们发现 hcmv-miR-UL36 的过表达导致感染后 24 小时 HCMV DNA 合成增加了三倍以上。使用杂交 PCR 鉴定了 hcmv-miR-UL36 的 15 个推定靶标，其中一个是 HCMV UL138 基因，该基因先前被鉴定为 HCMV 感染的新型潜伏相关决定因素。在 HEK293 细胞中，通过荧光素酶报告基因测定和 Western blot 分析验证了 hcmv-miR-UL36 对 UL138 表达的下调。在 hcmv-miR-UL36 的存在下，我们观察到荧光素酶活性降低了 74.6%，HCMV UL138 蛋白表达降低了 46.2%。我们的结果表明，hcmv-miR-UL36 可能是一种有助于 HCMV 复制的病毒 miRNA。
