Progress on microRNAs and neonatal acute respiratory distress syndrome

Neonatal acute respiratory distress syndrome (NARDS), featured by dyspnea and hypoxemia, is a serious life-threatening acute and diffuse lung injury caused by many influencing factors. microRNAs (miRNAs), a type of endogenous small non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression, are involved in the development of NARDS. In recent years, an increasing number of studies on miRNA and NARDS have been conducted. It is widely acknowledged that miRNAs do not only promote the pathogenesis of NARDS, but also play a protective role as different miRNAs have different functions with different underlying mechanisms. Although numerous studies on the correlation between miRNA and NARDS have emerged, specific pathogenesis and regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. This article reviewed the latest progress in the research of correlation between miRNAs and NARDS and the related molecular mechanisms to provide information for clinical practice. Key words: microRNAs; Respiratory distress syndrome, newborn