Advances on mechanism of microRNA in alcohol-induced liver injury

MicroRNA can bind to the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of a target gene and then degrade mature mRNA or suppress relevant translational process, and its roles in chemical induced liver injury have been a toxicological research focus. Alcoholic liver injury becomes a global health burden, and the alcohol metabolism and toxic mechanism in the liver have been almost identified, but research on the regulatory roles of microRNA in alcoholic liver injury is still on the way. In this review, we summarized the biological roles of microRNA in regulating alcohol metabolizing enzymes, oxidative stress genes, and inflammation factors, and the potential regulatory mechanisms disturbing alcoholic liver injury.