- Published
- 31 December 2021
- Journal article
SARS-CoV-2 Causes a Significant Stress Response Mediated by Small RNAs in the Blood of COVID-19 Patients
- Authors
- Source
- Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 has had a serious impact on the world. In this study, small RNAs from the blood of COVID-19 patients with moderate or severe symptoms were extracted for high-throughput sequencing and analysis. Interestingly, the levels of a special group of tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) were found to be dramatically upregulated after SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms. In particular, the 3'CCA tsRNAs from Gly-tRNA were highly consistent with the inflammation indicator C-reactive protein (CRP). In addition, we found that the majority of significantly changed microRNAs (miRNAs) were associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER)/unfolded protein response (UPR) sensors, which may lead to the induction of proinflammatory cytokine and immune responses. This study found that SARS-CoV-2 infection caused significant changes in the levels of stress-associated small RNAs in patient blood and their potential functions. Our research revealed that the cells of COVID-19 patients undergo tremendous stress and respond, which can be reflected or regulated by sncRNAs, thus providing potential thought for therapeutic intervention in COVID-19 by modulating small RNA levels or activities.
Cite as
Liu, X., Wen, Y., Huang, Z., Shen, X., Wang, J., Luo, Y., Chen, W., Lun, Z., Li, H., Qu, L., Shan, H. & Zheng, L. 2021, 'SARS-CoV-2 Causes a Significant Stress Response Mediated by Small RNAs in the Blood of COVID-19 Patients', Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids, 27, pp. 751-762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.omtn.2021.12.034