中国生物工程杂志

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small RNA molecules which play a pivotal role in the regulation of genes involved in diverse processes. Recently, many viral-encoded miRNAs have been discovered, which suggests that viruses also use this fundamental mode of gene regulation. Although the functions of most viral- encoded miRNAs are unknown, some of them are involved in evading CTL，mediating latent infection,apoptosis suppression,etc.Uncovering the role of viral miRNAs in the pathopoiesis offers an immense opportunity not only to develope effective antiviral therapies，but also to identifying novel molecular targets for developing antiviral reagents.Therefore，this review discusses recent progress on vmiRNAs.