Acute kidney injury: microRNAs and new therapeutic opportunities for natural products

In the past few decades, acute kidney injury (AKI), characterized by an abrupt decrease in kidney filtration rate, has become a public health issue affecting between 1% and 15% of the population, which causes high morbidity and death. There is mounting evidence that miRNAs are noncoding single-stranded RNAs with a short length of about 20 nucleotides and have been highly conserved through evolution. Through targeting mRNAs, miRNA may mediate intercellular communication during AKI's physiological and pathological processes. It is interesting to note that natural products can improve AKI by regulating miRNA expression, which might represent a potentially innovative therapeutic strategy. This review aims at providing an overview of the new data obtained on miRNAs in the treatment and diagnosis of AKI, summarizing studies on natural products improving AKI through regulating miRNAs' expression; in the same time, it will shed new light on AKI risk biomarkers and therapeutic intervention as well. We summarized the roles of miRNAs involved in AKI progression or protection against renal injury in 32 articles; we found five natural products can improve AKI by regulating miRNA expression, which will potentially provide a reference for clinical treatment. Natural products might represent a potentially innovative therapeutic strategy; in the same time, miRNAs will shed new light on AKI risk biomarkers and therapeutic intervention.