Expression and function of micro RNAs in immune cells during normal or disease state

Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are 19-24 nucleotide long non-coding RNAs that posttranscriptionally modulate gene expression. They are found in almost all species: viruses, plants, nematodes, fly, fish, mouse, human, and are implicated in a wide array of cellular and developmental processes. Microarray-based miRNA profiling brought to the discovery of miRNAs specific to different hematopoietic lineages. Furthermore, the functional assays performed in tissue cultures to discover miRNAs involved in immune responses in combination with the reports of miRNA-transgenic or miRNA-knockout mouse models has helped elucidating the miRNA roles in the development and function of immune system. Abnormal patterns of hematopoietic-specific miRNAs have been found in different types of cancer and miRNA based gene therapy is being considered as a potential technology of choice in immunological disorders and cancer. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent findings related with the expression and function of miRNAs in hematopoietic lineages.

[1]  C. Croce,et al.  MicroRNA signatures in human cancers , 2006, Nature Reviews Cancer.

[2]  B. Cullen.  Transcription and processing of human microRNA precursors. , 2004, Molecular cell.

[3]  N. Rajewsky,et al.  Regulation of the Germinal Center Response by MicroRNA-155 , 2007, Science.

[4]  Muller Fabbri,et al.  Modulation of miR-155 and miR-125b Levels following Lipopolysaccharide/TNF-α Stimulation and Their Possible Roles in Regulating the Response to Endotoxin Shock1 , 2007, The Journal of Immunology.

[5]  Stefano Volinia,et al.  Pre-B cell proliferation and lymphoblastic leukemia/high-grade lymphoma in E(mu)-miR155 transgenic mice. , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[6]  G. Calin,et al.  miRNAs and their potential for use against cancer and other diseases. , 2007, Future oncology.

[7]  C. Mayr,et al.  miR-150, a microRNA expressed in mature B and T cells, blocks early B cell development when expressed prematurely , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[8]  Phillip A. Sharp,et al.  miRNA Profiling of Naïve, Effector and Memory CD8 T Cells , 2007, PloS one.

[9]  R. Aguiar,et al.  Coordinated expression of microRNA-155 and predicted target genes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. , 2008, Cancer genetics and cytogenetics.

[10]  Chris Sander,et al.  MicroRNA profiling of the murine hematopoietic system , 2005, Genome Biology.

[11]  Michael Z Michael,et al.  Reduced accumulation of specific microRNAs in colorectal neoplasia. , 2003, Molecular cancer research : MCR.

[12]  C. Croce,et al.  MicroRNA profiling reveals distinct signatures in B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemias. , 2004, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[13]  O. Kirak,et al.  Regulation of progenitor cell proliferation and granulocyte function by microRNA-223 , 2008, Nature.

[14]  C. Croce,et al.  CD34+ hematopoietic stem-progenitor cell microRNA expression and function: A circuit diagram of differentiation control , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[15]  Mark M. Davis,et al.  miR-181a Is an Intrinsic Modulator of T Cell Sensitivity and Selection , 2007, Cell.

[16]  D. Baltimore,et al.  NF-κB-dependent induction of microRNA miR-146, an inhibitor targeted to signaling proteins of innate immune responses , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[17]  G. Calin,et al.  MicroRNA Involvement in Brain Tumors: From Bench to Bedside , 2008, Brain pathology.

[18]  N. Rajewsky,et al.  Silencing of microRNAs in vivo with ‘antagomirs’ , 2005, Nature.

[19]  V. Ambros,et al.  The C. elegans heterochronic gene lin-4 encodes small RNAs with antisense complementarity to lin-14 , 1993, Cell.

[20]  D. Bartel.  MicroRNAs Genomics, Biogenesis, Mechanism, and Function , 2004, Cell.

[21]  Grace X. Y. Zheng,et al.  Dynamic regulation of miRNA expression in ordered stages of cellular development. , 2007, Genes & development.

[22]  P. Janson,et al.  MicroRNAs: Novel Regulators Involved in the Pathogenesis of Psoriasis? , 2007, PloS one.

[23]  C. Croce,et al.  miR-15 and miR-16 induce apoptosis by targeting BCL2. , 2005, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[24]  V. Ambros.  The functions of animal microRNAs , 2004, Nature.

[25]  Stefano Volinia,et al.  Interferon modulation of cellular microRNAs as an antiviral mechanism , 2007, Nature.

[26]  C. Croce,et al.  A microRNA expression signature of human solid tumors defines cancer gene targets , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[27]  Anton J. Enright,et al.  Requirement of bic/microRNA-155 for Normal Immune Function , 2007, Science.

[28]  D. Bartel,et al.  MicroRNAs Modulate Hematopoietic Lineage Differentiation , 2004, Science.

[29]  Annick Harel-Bellan,et al.  The microRNA miR-181 targets the homeobox protein Hox-A11 during mammalian myoblast differentiation , 2006, Nature Cell Biology.

[30]  Anton J. Enright,et al.  microRNA-155 regulates the generation of immunoglobulin class-switched plasma cells. , 2007, Immunity.

[31]  J. Steitz,et al.  Switching from Repression to Activation: MicroRNAs Can Up-Regulate Translation , 2007, Science.

[32]  F. Slack,et al.  Oncomirs — microRNAs with a role in cancer , 2006, Nature Reviews Cancer.

[33]  J Philip McCoy,et al.  Hematopoietic-specific microRNA expression in human cells. , 2006, Leukemia research.

[34]  W. Tam,et al.  miR‐155/BIC as an oncogenic microRNA , 2006, Genes, chromosomes & cancer.

[35]  C. Croce,et al.  Frequent deletions and down-regulation of micro- RNA genes miR15 and miR16 at 13q14 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia , 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[36]  Muller Fabbri,et al.  A MicroRNA signature associated with prognosis and progression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. , 2005, The New England journal of medicine.

[37]  Yoshikazu Nakamura,et al.  Altered expression profiles of microRNAs during TPA-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells. , 2004, Biochemical and biophysical research communications.

[38]  Steven P. O'Hara,et al.  A Cellular Micro-RNA, let-7i, Regulates Toll-like Receptor 4 Expression and Contributes to Cholangiocyte Immune Responses against Cryptosporidium parvum Infection* , 2007, Journal of Biological Chemistry.

[39]  Y. Pekarsky,et al.  Tcl1 expression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia is regulated by miR-29 and miR-181. , 2006, Cancer research.

[40]  F. Lo‐Coco,et al.  Epigenetic silencing of the myelopoiesis regulator microRNA-223 by the AML1/ETO oncoprotein. , 2007, Cancer cell.