Interplay between miRNAs and Mycobacterium tuberculosis: diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Issue 5 (May 2021) - Singh, Amit Kumar
Highlights: Current intervention measures for tuberculosis (TB) treatment are far from satisfactory. Mycobacteria alter the host microRNA (miRNA) expression profile to their benefit. miRNAs based biomarkers have the potential for early diagnosis of TB. miRNA offer enormous potential as future therapeutics for TB treatment. miRNA therapeutics success will depend on development of efficient delivery system. Abstract : Increasing evidence suggests that mycobacteria change the host miRNA profile to their advantage. The active participation of miRNAs in controlling immune responses in TB has raised the possibility of utilizing miRNA-based therapy itself or canonically with a standard drug regimen for shortening the duration of treatment. The development of delivery systems for optimal delivery of oligonucleotides, including small interfering (si)RNA/miRNAs-based therapeutics has shown potential as a new therapeutic intervention. However, studies related to the exploitation of miRNAs as both biomarkers and as therapeutics in TB are scarce; thus, more in vitro and in vivo studies are required to fully determine the role of miRNAs as potential diagnostic biomarkers and to improve the pharmacological profile of this class of therapeutics.