AUTHOR=Dong Hao , Gao Qiang , Peng Xiaowei , Sun Yu , Han Tao , Zhao Bolin , Liu Yufu , Wang Chuanbin , Song Xiaohui , Wu Jiajun , Yang Lin TITLE=Circulating MicroRNAs As Potential Biomarkers for Veterinary Infectious Diseases JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science VOLUME=4 YEAR=2017 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2017.00186 DOI=10.3389/fvets.2017.00186 ISSN=2297-1769 ABSTRACT=

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a kind of small non-coding RNA molecules that could regulate multiple biological pathways at posttranscriptional level. Over 2,000 miRNAs have so far been discovered in humans, and many of them are found to be linked to various kinds of diseases. Thus, miRNAs are being considered as clinical diagnostic and therapeutic targets. With the discovery of high stability of circulating miRNAs in various kinds of mammalian body fluids, the potential of circulating miRNAs as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers of infectious diseases aroused great interest among researchers. As far as human diseases are concerned, some biomarkers based on circulating miRNAs have been progressed to clinical application. In veterinary fields, however, this concept is only beginning to come into view. In this review, we summarize an update of preclinical studies on using circulating miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers to combat infectious diseases that affect domestic animals.