Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) emerged as an epidemic in Africa in 1981, and now it has become a most destructive global pandemic. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is responsible for the pathogenesis of AIDS, and it is usually transmitted through unsafe sexual activities. HIV is a lentivirus that can remain latent in the host cells for a long period, and it has various mechanisms to establish latency. The HIV genome encodes several microRNAs (miRNA-TAR, miRNA-H1, miRNA-H3, and miRNA-Nef-367) that act as posttranscriptional control by targeting mRNA sequences. The miRNA-TAR, miRNA-Nef-367, and miRNA-H1 have established roles in HIV latency, whereas miRNA-H3 can activate the latent reservoirs of HIV. The human genome also encodes several miRNAs that have defensive roles against infections. Cellular miRNAs (miRNA-29a, miRNA-146a, miRNA-34c-5'p, miRNA-186, miRNA-210 and miRNA-222) also contribute to viral latency. The most challenging hurdle in the development of effective HIV therapeutics is viral latency. A complete understanding of latency will enable us to develop efficient therapeutics and to eradicate HIV from the globe.

中文翻译：

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MicroRNA在建立人类免疫缺陷病毒潜伏期中的作用。

后天免疫机能丧失综合症（AIDS）于1981年在非洲流行开来，如今已成为最具破坏性的全球性流行病。人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）是造成AIDS的原因，通常通过不安全的性活动传播。HIV是一种慢病毒，可以长期潜伏在宿主细胞中，并且具有多种机制来建立潜伏期。HIV基因组编码了几个微RNA（miRNA-TAR，miRNA-H1，miRNA-H3和miRNA-Nef-367），它们通过靶向mRNA序列作为转录后控制。miRNA-TAR，miRNA-Nef-367和miRNA-H1在HIV潜伏期中已经确立了作用，而miRNA-H3可以激活HIV的潜在贮藏库。人类基因组还编码了几种具有抗感染作用的miRNA。细胞miRNA（miRNA-29a，miRNA-146a，miRNA-34c-5'p，miRNA-186，miRNA-210和miRNA-222）也有助于病毒潜伏期。有效的HIV治疗药物开发中最具挑战性的障碍是病毒潜伏期。对潜伏期的全面了解将使我们能够开发有效的疗法并从全球消灭艾滋病毒。