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Weidner et al. J Transl Genet Genom 2019;3:2 Journal of Translational
DOI: 10.20517/jtgg.2018.30 Genetics and Genomics

Review Open Access

MicroRNAs in asthma pathogenesis - from mouse to
man

Julie Weidner, Carina Malmhäll, Madeleine Rådinger

Krefting Research Centre, Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg,
Gothenburg SE-40530, Sweden.
Correspondence to: Dr. Madeleine Rådinger, Krefting Research Centre, Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute
of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Box424, Gothenburg SE-40530, Sweden. E-mail: madeleine.radinger@gu.se
How to cite this article: Weidner J, Malmhäll C, Rådinger M. microRNAs in asthma pathogenesis - from mouse to man. J Transl Genet
Genom 2019;3:2. https://doi.org/10.20517/jtgg.2018.30

Received: 1 Oct 2018 First Decision: 7 Nov 2018 Revised: 27 Nov 2018 Accepted: 3 Dec 2018 Published: 20 Jan 2019
Science Editor: Faoud Terrence Ishmael Copy Editor: Cui Yu Production Editor: Huan-Liang Wu

Abstract
Asthma is a heterogenic disease affecting over 300 million people of all ages and socioeconomic status worldwide. The
disease is characterized by chronic airway inflammation, reversible airflow obstruction, wheeze, cough and shortness of
breath. Although asthma has been traditionally described by phenotypes such as immune cell type or allergy, it is clear
that a variety of subtypes have emerged, adding further complexity to the disease. microRNAs are small, non-coding
RNAs that act as regulatory molecules, binding to one or several target mRNAs, often resulting in translational silencing.
In recent years, microRNAs have been the subject of many studies in order to better understand the mechanisms driving
asthma development as well as discovery of potential biomarkers for asthma. In this review, we focus on the emerging
role of microRNAs in asthma, from animal models to human cohorts.

Keywords: microRNA, asthma, allergy, animal models, human, endotype, biomarker, phenotype

INTRODUCTION
Asthma is a respiratory disease that affects more than 300 million people world-wide. It is a chronic
inflammatory disease of the airways that gives rise to bronchial hyper-responsiveness and airway obstruction
[1]
thus leading to symptoms such as wheeze, cough, breathlessness and chest tightness . Epidemiological
data on large population-based studies demonstrate that the prevalence of asthma is approximately 5%-10%
in Western countries [2-6] . However, asthma, and in particular severe asthma, is increasingly recognized
[7,8]
as a heterogeneous disease consisting of several phenotypes . While existing therapies are effective for
the majority of asthmatics, treatment for individuals with more severe asthma are often ineffective. The

© The Author(s) 2019. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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