DGCR8-mediated production of canonical microRNAs is critical for regulatory T cell function and stability.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 23741528.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0066282 and PMC identifier 3669207.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Treg) are integral for immune homeostasis. Here we demonstrate that canonical microRNAs (miRNAs) are required for Treg function because mice with DGCR8-deficient Treg cells spontaneously develop a scurfy-like disease. Using genetic lineage marking we show that absence of miRNAs leads to reduced FoxP3 expression in Treg cells in vivo. In vitro culture of purified DGCR8-deficient Treg leads to a loss of FoxP3 expression. We conclude that canonical miRNAs are essential to maintain stable FoxP3 expression and Treg function. Thus, signals interfering with miRNA homeostasis might contribute to autoimmune diseases.
Medical subject headings
- Gene Expression Regulation
- MicroRNAs
- RNA-Binding Proteins
- T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory