IN SILICO MODELING OF THE MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF microRNAs MARKERS FOR LIVER FIBROSIS IN HEPATITIS C

摘要

Molecular biology looks for evidence that microRNA (miRNAs) plays a relevant function?both in the beginning and advanced stages of hepatic fibrosis (HF), and has been proposed as?an additional biomarker for HF forecasting in carriers of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.?The purpose of this study was to develop an in silico modeling of the two-dimensional (2D)?molecular structure of miRNA markers for HF in carriers of HCV. A search was initially?performed for the nucleotide sequence of 6 miRNAs defined as biomarkers for HF, performing a computational simulation of the molecular structure of the following miRNAs: miRNA-182,?miRNA-183, miRNA-1260b, miRNA-122-3p, miRNA-378i, and miRNA-214-5p. The?nucleotide sequences were chosen in the GenBank of the American National Institutes of?Health genetic sequence database. The nucleotide sequence alignment was carried out with a?text-based format (FASTA) tool. In the molecular modeling, the structures were built with the?RNAstructure, a completely automated miRNAs structure modelling server, available through?Web Servers for RNA Secondary Structure Prediction. This study presented the nucleotide?sequence and the computational simulation of molecular structures for the following miRNA:?miRNA-182, miRNA-183, miRNA-1260b, miRNA-122-3p, miRNA-378i, and miRNA-214-5p. The molecular structure of miRNAs markers for HF in HCV carriers, through computational?biology, is essential for designing more efficient optional tools for accurate treatment. KEY WORDS: micro-RNA; Hepatitis C; Hepatic Fibrosis; Computational Biology.