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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Virology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1632425

Unveiling the Impact of Non-Coding RNAs on Virus-Induced Cellular Autophagy: Roles and Research Advances

Provisionally accepted
Ming  YuMing Yu1Ying  YiYing Yi2Honglin  YangHonglin Yang2Yi  ZhangYi Zhang1*
  • 1Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
  • 2Qingdao Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Autophagy is the process by which cells degrade and recycle damaged organelles and macromolecules by forming autophagosomes. This process is closely related to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis, ontogeny, and the occurrence and development of various diseases. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules that do not encode proteins but play crucial roles in regulating gene expression. Numerous studies have demonstrated that ncRNAs are involved in regulating autophagy, and accumulating scientific evidence suggests that ncRNAs play an essential role in virus-induced cellular autophagy. ncRNAs affect autophagy by participating in the autophagy regulatory network, mediating the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of autophagy-related genes. This review aims to explore the role of ncRNAs in autophagy induced by viral infection and analyze the relevant molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying autophagy. By examining the content above, we speculate that targeted regulation of ncRNAs can affect autophagy induced upon viral infection, thereby achieving antiviral effects and host cell protection.

Keywords: non-coding RNAs, Autophagy, viral infection, Regulatory mechanism, Virology

Received: 21 May 2025; Accepted: 21 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Yu, Yi, Yang and Zhang. 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: Yi Zhang, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China

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