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Since late 2019, the world has been devastated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) induced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), with more than 760 million people affected and ∼seven million deaths reported. Although effective treatments for COVID‐19 are currently limited, there has been a strong focus on developing new therapeutic approaches to address the morbidity and mortality linked to this disease. An approach that is currently being investigated is the use of exosome‐based therapies. Exosomes are small, extracellular vesicles that play a role in many clinical diseases, including viral infections, infected cells release exosomes that can transmit viral components, such as miRNAs and proteins, and can also include receptors for viruses that facilitate viral entry into recipient cells. SARS‐CoV‐2 has the ability to impact the formation, secretion, and release of exosomes, thereby potentially facilitating or intensifying the transmission of the virus among cells, tissues and individuals. Therefore, designing synthetic exosomes that carry immunomodulatory cargo and antiviral compounds are proposed to be a promising strategy for the treatment of COVID‐19 and other viral diseases. Moreover, exosomes generated from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) might be employed as cell‐free therapeutic agents, as MSC‐derived exosomes can diminish the cytokine storm and reverse the suppression of host anti‐viral defences associated with COVID‐19, and boost the repair of lung damage linked to mitochondrial activity. The present article discusses the significance and roles of exosomes in COVID‐19, and explores potential future applications of exosomes in combating this disease. Despite the challenges posed by COVID‐19, exosome‐based therapies could represent a promising avenue for improving patient outcomes and reducing the impact of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZEB1 Antisense RNA 1 (ZEB1-AS1) is a type of RNA characterized as long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). This lncRNA has important regulatory roles on its related gene, Zinc Finger E-Box Binding Homeobox 1 (ZEB1). In addition, role of ZEB1-AS1 has been approved in diverse malignancies such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer, glioma, hepatocellular carcinoma and gastric cancer. ZEB1-AS1 serves as a sponge for a number of microRNAs, namely miR-577, miR-335–5p, miR-101, miR-505–3p, miR‐455–3p, miR-205, miR-23a, miR-365a-3p, miR-302b, miR-299–3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-200a, miR-200c, miR-342–3p, miR-214, miR-149–3p and miR-1224–5p. In addition to malignant conditions, ZEB1-AS1 has functional role in non-malignant conditions like diabetic nephropathy, diabetic lung, arthrosclerosis, Chlamydia trachomatis infection, pulmonary fibrosis and ischemic stroke. This review outlines different molecular mechanisms of ZEB1-AS1 in a variety of disorders and highlights its importance in their pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell cycle regulation is an important cellular function. Abnormal regulation of this process can cause cancer. Several genes are involved in this process. There is no comprehensive study on expression pattern of cell cycle related lncRNAs in breast cancer patients. In the current study, we evaluated expressions of LINC00668, PRDM16-DT, SNHG7 and CDKN2A in 42 pairs of breast cancer tissues and adjacent non-tumoral tissues. Expression of SNHG7 was significantly lower in tumoral tissues compared with non-tumoral tissues. However, expressions of LINC00668, PRDM16-DT and CDKN2A were not significantly different between these two sets of samples. Expression levels of SNHG7 could separate tumoral tissues from non-tumoral tissues with AUC value= 0.66, sensitivity= 61% and specificity= 73%. Expression of CDKN2A was associated with clinical stage (P value=0.01). Expression levels of LINC00668, PRDM16-DT, SNHG7 and CDKN2A were higher in estrogen receptor (ER) positive samples compared with ER negative ones (P values=0.044, 0.008, 0.002 and 0.022, respectively). Moreover, expression of SNHG7 was higher in progesterone receptor (PR) positive samples compared with PR negative ones (P value=0.02). Finally, expressions of PRDM16-DT, SNHG7 and CDKN2A were higher in HER2/neu positive samples compared with HER2/neu negative ones (P values=0.017, 0.02 and 0.021, respectively). Taken together, our study demonstrates possible roles of these genes in breast cancer and warrants further functional studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

NCK1 Antisense RNA 1 (NCK1-AS1), alternatively named as NCK1-DT, is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) with important roles in the carcinogenesis. Multiple studies verified its oncogenic role in different types of cancer, including gastric cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, glioma, prostate cancer and cervical cancer. NCK1-AS1 functions as a sponge for several microRNAs, including miR-137, miR-22-3p, miR-526b-5p, miR-512-5p, miR-138-2-3p and miR-6857. In this review we present an outline of NCK1-AS1 function in malignant conditions as well as atherosclerosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.)