Clinical Potential of miRNAs in Human and Infectious Diseases

Malak Haidar; Gordon Langlsey

doi:10.13052/mct2052-8426.811

Malak Haidar Pathogen Genomics Laboratory, Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal-23955- 6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Gordon Langlsey Laboratoire de Biologie Comparative des Apicomplexes, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes - Sorbonne Paris Cité, France.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.13052/mct2052-8426.811

Keywords: micro-RNA, cancer, infectious diseases,, parasites, Toxoplasma, Plasmodium, Theileria

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play critical roles in human disease. Several miRnome profiling studies have identified miRNAs deregulated in cancer and infectious diseases and miRNAs are also involved in regulation of the host response to infection. Thereby, the usage of miRNAs as biomarkers and potential treatments for both human and infectious diseases is under development. This review will provide insights into the contribution of miRNAs to pathogenesis and disease development and will present a general outline of the potential use of miRNAs as therapeutic tools.

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Author Biographies

Malak Haidar, Pathogen Genomics Laboratory, Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal-23955- 6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Malak Haidar obtained a M.Sc. in Integrative Biology from AgroParisTech University, Paris and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Paris- Descartes, France. Dr. Haidar is currently working at the Unit of Liver & Pancreas Differentiation at the Institut de Duve, Université Catholique de Louvain. Her current research is in the molecular and cellular biology of Cancer. Dr. Haidar previously worked in the Department of Bioscience, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudia Arabia, where studied host-pathogen interactions of Theileria annulata examining how different autocrine loops, oxidative stress and epigenetic landscape changes impact on pathogenicity.

Gordon Langlsey, Laboratoire de Biologie Comparative des Apicomplexes, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Descartes - Sorbonne Paris Cité, France.

Gordon Langsley is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Immunology, Inflammation and Infection at the Cochin Institute – Inserm U1016, part of the Medical Faculty of the University of Paris-Descartes. His interest is in host-pathogens interactions of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of human malaria, and Theileria annulata, causative agent of tropical theileriosis. His focus has been on how the presence of these intracellular pathogens impacts their host cells (erythrocytes and leukocytes, respectively) and how this underpins disease virulence.

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