Identification of distinct miRNAs associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in the pathogenesis of viral infections, but little is known about the miRNA alternations associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we performed high throughout sequencing to detect miRNAs in the plasma samples collected from 61 healthy controls, 16 asymptomatic individuals and 100 symptomatic COVID-19 patients. In total, we identified 2,336 known miRNAs and 361 novel miRNAs, including 75 differentially expressed miRNAs with p value<0.05 between various groups. We also found a number of miRNAs that were associated with various clinical presentations and viral persistence of COVID-19, such as hsa-miR-370-3p, hsa-miR-146a-3p, hsa-miR-885-5p, hsa-miR-214-3p and hsa-miR-10b-5p. Further analysis of the target genes, gene ontology and KEGG pathways revealed a panel of miRNAs that were linked to immune responses, viral infections, inflammation and apoptosis. Our findings may help understand the contribution of miRNAs to the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and identify potential biomarkers and molecular targets for the diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall design: 233 peripheral blood samples included 165 samples derived from 116 COVID-19 patients at different times, 2 suspected samples and 66 samples derived from 61 healthy controls.