FIGURE 2.

miRNAs are involved in the occurrence and development of UC. miRNAs regulate the generation, differentiation, and function of multiple immune cells (e.g., macrophages, DCs, T-cell) (Murugaiyan et al., 2015; Zhou et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2016a; Wang et al., 2016a; Hou et al., 2017; Neudecker et al., 2017; Xu et al., 2017; Li et al., 2018; Wei et al., 2020). miRNAs also affect the physical barrier of intestinal tract by regulating IEC's tight junctions and apoptosis (Bian et al., 2011; Van der Goten et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2016b; He et al., 2017). In addition, miRNAs are secreted by IECs into the intestinal lumen through exosomes and regulate the bacterial growth (Liu et al., 2016b).