Main description:

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in diverse regulatory pathways ranging from developmental control, cell differentiation, neural and immune system development. Many miRNAs are located in the human genome and frequently amplified, deleted or rearranged in cancer. Many viruses encode their own miRNAs in order to thrive during the course of their infection cycle. This book discusses the mechanism of miRNA biogenesis, virus encoded miRNAs, and the involvement of miRNAs in specific infectious or non-infectious diseases.

Contents:

Biogenesis of microRNAs. MicroRNAs in Nervous System. MiRNAs in skeletal muscle differentiation. microRNA expression during vertebrate development. The role of miRNA in hematopoiesis. MicroRNAs in immunology. Epigenetic regulation of miRNAs in stem cells. MicroRNAs expressed by viruses and their role in disease biology. Dysregulation of microRNAs in human malignancy. High throughput microRNAs profiling. miR122 in Hepatitis C virus. MiRNAs and Herpesviruses. MiRNAs and HIV Latency. MicroRNAs and other human diseases. Methods to indentify novel miRNA encoded by Virus. Computational approaches to elucidate miRNA biology. Role of miRNA in Translational machinery. Detection and quantitation of microRNAs. MicroRNAs in Plasma and serum. Tools to study microRNA expression. A single molecule method to quantify miRNA gene expression. Use of miRNAs as biomarker. Potential of miRNAs as a therapeutic tools in drug discovery.