Recent Advances of MicroRNA in Sepsis-associated Acute Lung Injury

Sepsis is one of the most common severe diseases in clinic. With the progression of the disease, it is very likely to occur acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Despite years of research, the mortality rate from sepsis-associated lung injury remains high. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding small RNAs with the function of regulating gene expression. In recent years, miRNAs have become a research hotspot in the field of biomedicine. Therefore, this review summarizes a large body of evidence implicating miRNAs and their target molecules in ALI/ARDS originating largely from studies using animal and cell culture model systems of ALI/ARDS. First, the pathophysiology and potential molecular mechanism of sepsis-associated ALI were briefly discussed at the cellular level, and the regulatory effect of miRNA on sepsis-associated ALI was summarized from the molecular mechanism so as to provide the possibility to find new targets for the treatment of sepsis-associated lung injury. Finally, some promising methods and some shortcomings of existing research are introduced.