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microRNA dynamic expression regulates invariant NKT cells

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Abstract

Invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT) are a prevalent population of innate-like T cells in mice, but quite rare in humans that are critical for regulation of the innate and adaptive immune responses during antimicrobial immunity, tumor rejection, and inflammatory diseases. Multiple transcription factors and signaling molecules that contribute to iNKT cell selection and functional differentiation have been identified. However, the full molecular network responsible for regulating and maintaining iNKT populations remains unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of evolutionarily conserved, small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Previous reports uncovered the important roles of miRNAs in iNKT cell development and function using Dicer mutant mice. In this review, we discuss the emerging roles of individual miRNAs in iNKT cells reported by our group and other groups, including miR-150, miR-155, miR-181, let-7, miR-17 ~ 92 cluster, and miR-183-96-182 cluster. It is likely that iNKT cell development, differentiation, homeostasis, and functions are orchestrated through a multilayered network comprising interactions among master transcription factors, signaling molecules, and dynamically expressed miRNAs. We provide a comprehensive view of the molecular mechanisms underlying iNKT cell differentiation and function controlled by dynamically expressed miRNAs.

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Funding

This research is partially supported by the US National Institutes of Health grants R01AI119041, R01AR063611, R61AR076803 and R01AR069681 to  Q-SM, and R01AR072046 t0 LZ; and the Henry Ford Immunology Program grants (T71016, Q-SM; T71017, LZ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Cutaneous Biology and Immunology, Department of Dermatology, Henry Ford Health System, 1 Ford Place, Detroit, MI, USA

    Qing-Sheng Mi, Jie Wang, Queping Liu, Xiaojun Wu & Li Zhou

  2. Immunology Research Program, Henry Ford Cancer Institute, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA

    Qing-Sheng Mi, Jie Wang, Queping Liu, Xiaojun Wu & Li Zhou

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Henry Ford Health System, 1 Ford Place, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Qing-Sheng Mi & Li Zhou

Authors
  1. Qing-Sheng Mi
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  2. Jie Wang
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  3. Queping Liu
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  4. Xiaojun Wu
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  5. Li Zhou
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Contributions

LZ and Q-SM had the idea for the review article; JW, QL, XW, LZ, and Q-SM performed the literature search; Q-SM, JW, QL, and LZ drafted manuscript; LZ and Q-SM critically revised manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qing-Sheng Mi or Li Zhou.

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Mi, QS., Wang, J., Liu, Q. et al. microRNA dynamic expression regulates invariant NKT cells. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 78, 6003–6015 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-021-03895-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-021-03895-7

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