The roles of microRNAs in regulation of autophagy during bacterial infection

Xenophagy is a selective form of autophagy targeting intracellular pathogens for lysosomal degradation. Accordingly, bacteria have evolved multiple strategies to evade or minimize autophagy and xenophagy to survive and replicate in host cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play key roles in host cells by modulating immune and inflammatory responses during infection. Accumulating evidence shows that miRNAs influence the outcome of bacterial infection by regulating canonical autophagy and xenophagy responses in host cells. Despite recent advances, we are only just beginning to understand the role miRNAs play in autophagy processes and how it affects the outcome of host-pathogen interactions in various bacterial infections. In this review, we focus on how Mycobacteria, Listeria, and Helicobacter evade host protective immune responses using miRNA-dependent mechanisms to suppress autophagy. These efforts include recent insights into the crosstalk between miRNAs and autophagy pathways, and how these interactions may be targeted in the search for new therapeutics against bacterial infections.