{"title":"From correlation to causation: unraveling the role of long non-coding RNAs in COVID-19 pathogenesis.","authors":"Tianfei Yu, Yunhan Zhang, Haolan Zhang, Ming Li","doi":"10.1186/s12985-025-02660-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Heydari et al. present an intriguing study examining the role of three long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)-H19, taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1), and colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE)-in the context of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), focusing on their diagnostic potential and biological significance. The authors argue that these lncRNAs play a role in inflammatory and fibrotic processes associated with COVID-19 and demonstrate their potential utility as biomarkers using machine learning-based predictive models. While the study offers significant contributions to the field, there are limitations in its methodology, interpretative depth, and generalizability that merit closer examination. This commentary critically evaluates the findings, suggesting avenues for refinement and further research.</p>","PeriodicalId":23616,"journal":{"name":"Virology Journal","volume":"22 1","pages":"293"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12392523/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Virology Journal","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-025-02660-7","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"VIROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Heydari et al. present an intriguing study examining the role of three long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)-H19, taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1), and colorectal neoplasia differentially expressed (CRNDE)-in the context of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), focusing on their diagnostic potential and biological significance. The authors argue that these lncRNAs play a role in inflammatory and fibrotic processes associated with COVID-19 and demonstrate their potential utility as biomarkers using machine learning-based predictive models. While the study offers significant contributions to the field, there are limitations in its methodology, interpretative depth, and generalizability that merit closer examination. This commentary critically evaluates the findings, suggesting avenues for refinement and further research.
期刊介绍:
Virology Journal is an open access, peer reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of virology, including research on the viruses of animals, plants and microbes. The journal welcomes basic research as well as pre-clinical and clinical studies of novel diagnostic tools, vaccines and anti-viral therapies.
The Editorial policy of Virology Journal is to publish all research which is assessed by peer reviewers to be a coherent and sound addition to the scientific literature, and puts less emphasis on interest levels or perceived impact.