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Enforced expression of microRNA-21 influences the replication of varicella-zoster virus by triggering signal transducer and activator of transcription 3

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chronic pain and serious complications, including zoster paresis. However, the mechanism of VZV replication, a critical part of VZV pathogenesis, remains largely unknown and was investigated in the present study. The upregulation of microRNA-21 (miR-21) was identi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: LI, YAN, WU, RINA, LIU, ZHONGRONG, FAN, JIANYONG, YANG, HUILAN
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: D.A. Spandidos 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3991484/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24940427
http://dx.doi.org/10.3892/etm.2014.1588
Descripción
Sumario:Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chronic pain and serious complications, including zoster paresis. However, the mechanism of VZV replication, a critical part of VZV pathogenesis, remains largely unknown and was investigated in the present study. The upregulation of microRNA-21 (miR-21) was identified following VZV infection in vitro by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The hypothesis that the overexpression of miR-21 activates the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway was validated by measuring the mRNA expression levels of STAT3 and the anti-apoptotic protein survivin in human malignant melanoma (MeWo) and human embryonic lung fibroblast (HELF) cell lines transfected with miR-21-mimic and comparing them with those in cells transfected with miR-control. To further study the interaction of miR-21, STAT3 and VZV replication, the effects of miR-21 overexpression and STAT3 knockdown were evaluated. Higher virus titers were detected when miR-21 was upregulated in vitro. Moreover, it was identified that significantly lower virus titers were present in MeWo cells in which STAT3 was knocked down. In addition, the overexpression of miR-21 did not stimulate VZV replication in the MeWo cell line when the STAT3 gene was silenced. Therefore, the observations of the present study indicate that the enforced expression of miR-21 promotes the replication of VZV by activating STAT3 in vitro.