The Relationship between Extracellular/intracellular microRNAs and TLRs May Be Used as a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach in Sepsis

ABSTRACT

One of the leading causes of death in the intensive care unit (ICU) is sepsis. Different studies have been performed on different markers to determine the cause of sepsis. microRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that can be released both inside and outside the cell and regulate the target gene expression by binding to the 3ʹ untranslated region (3ʹUTR) of the target genes. TLRs play an important role in innate immunity that can be modulated by biological markers such as microRNAs. In this study, we summarized the recent progress on the role of extracellular and intracellular microRNAs in sepsis. It has also been focused on the association of TLRs with extracellular and intracellular micro RNAs in the regulation of sepsis. In conclusion, this study has provided new insight into the role of microRNAs as a regulator of the TLRs which may lead to the aberrant inflammatory response in sepsis. Therefore, it suggests that both intracellular and extracellular microRNAs may play a therapeutic role in the treatment of sepsis via regulating TLRs. However, yet sepsis and septic shock are medical emergencies and further studies are needed to specify the exact role of microRNAs and TLRs in sepsis.

KEYWORDS:

• microRNA
• Toll-like Receptor
• sepsis

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran, for supporting this study.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the conception and the main idea of the work. A.M. wrote the manuscript. N.S. and A.N.A. drafted the main text, figures, and table. N.S. co-wrote and revised the manuscript. F.M. and M.A. helped in revision. H.X. and S.S. are the corresponding author which study was performed under their supervision. All authors read and approved the final version of the work to be published.