Abstract:
Recent findings revealed that certain viruses encoded microRNA-like small RNAs using
the RNA interference machinery in the host cells. However, the function of these virusencoded
microRNA-like
small
RNAs
remained
unclear,
and
whether
these
microRNAlike
small RNAs were involved in the replication of the virus and viral infection was
still disputable. In this chapter, the negative-sense RNA genome of Ebola virus (EBOV)
was scanned using bioinformatics tools to predict the EBOV-encoded microRNA-like
small RNAs. Then, the potential influence of viral microRNA-like small RNAs on the
viral immune evasion, host cellular signaling pathway, and epigenetic regulation of
antiviral defense mechanism were also detected by the reconstructed regulatory
network of target genes associated with viral encoded microRNA-like small RNAs. In
this analysis, EBOV-encoded microRNA-like small RNAs were proposed to inhibit the
host immune response factors, probably facilitating the evasion of EBOV from the host
defense mechanisms. In conclusion, systematic investigation of microRNA-like small
RNAs in EBOV genome may shed light on the underlying molecular mechanisms of the
pathological process of Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Keywords: Ebolavirus, virus-encoded miRNAs, microRNAs, bioinformatics, NF-kB,
TNF
