REVIEW article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Adaptive & Innate Immunity in Infection
This article is part of the Research TopicTargeting Non-Coding RNAs in Viral Disease Management: Potential as Therapeutic Targets and Diagnostic BiomarkersView all articles
Non-Coding RNAs in the Viral Host-Pathogen Interaction: Molecular Regulation and Therapeutic Potential
Provisionally accepted
- 1Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
- 2Infectious Disease Research Department, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- 3Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- 4King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including microRNA (miRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA), serve as key regulatory molecules in the context of viral infection. They play dual roles by modulating host immune responses and influencing viral replication, persistence, and disease progression. Numerous ncRNAs have been implicated in infections caused by viruses such as HCV, DENV and SARS-CoV. This review highlights the biogenesis and multifaceted functions of both host-encoded and virus-encoded ncRNAs in shaping host-pathogen interactions. It also examines their potential as novel biomarkers and therapeutic agents for viral infections. We discuss translational applications such as Miravirsen, a miRNA inhibitor that reached clinical trials for Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and diagnostic relevance of lncRNA NEAT1 in SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the end, we have also addressed the current challenges and limitations involved in translating research observations of ncRNAs to clinical outcomes.
Keywords: circRNA, host–pathogen interaction, long non-coding RNAs, MicroRNAs, non-coding RNAs, RNA therapeutics, viral infection
Received: 29 Oct 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yamin, Alshafi, Abdulal, Asad, Bosaeed and Zohaib. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ali Zohaib
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.