title: MicroRNA-29 in the adaptive immune system: setting the threshold.
abstract: Recent research into the role of microRNA (miR) in the immune system has identified the miR-29 family as critical regulators of key processes in adaptive immunity. The miR-29 family consists of four members with shared regulatory capacity, namely miR-29a, miR-29b-1, miR-29b-2 and miR-29c. Being expressed in both T and B cells, as well as the main accessory cell types of thymic epithelium and dendritic cells, the miR-29 family has been identified as a putative regulator of immunity due to the predicted suppression of key immunological pathways. The generation of a series of in vivo molecular tools targeting the miR-29 family has identified the critical role of these miR in setting the molecular threshold for three central events in adaptive immunity: (1) control over thymic production of T cells by modulating the threshold for infection-associated thymic involution, (2) creating a neutral threshold for T cell polarization following activation, and (3) setting the threshold for B cell oncogenic transformation. These results identify the miR-29 family as potent immune modulators which have already been exploited through the evolution of a viral mimic and could potentially be exploited further for therapeutic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Autoimmune Genetics Laboratory, VIB and University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liston
authors.forename: Aikaterini S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Papadopoulou
authors.forename: Dina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Danso-Abeam
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dooley
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000235:genetics*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000378:metabolism; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins