title: Perspective: The RNA exosome, cytokine gene regulation and links to autoimmunity.
abstract: The RNA exosome is a highly conserved exoribonuclease complex that is involved in RNA processing, quality control and turnover regulation. The exosome plays pleiotropic functions by recruiting different cofactors that regulate its target specificity. Recently, the exosome has been implicated in the regulation of immune processes including cytokine production and negative regulation of innate sensing of nucleic acids. Careful regulation of such mechanisms is critical to avoid a breakdown of self-tolerance and the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders. This perspective briefly introduces the exosome, its its normal function in RNA biology and summarizes regulatory roles of the RNA exosome in immunity. Finally we discuss how dysregulation of exosome function can lead to autoimmune disease.
authors.affiliation: Département de Biologie, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France; Program in Innate Immunity, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blin
authors.affiliation: Program in Innate Immunity, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: kate.fitzgerald@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D063326:Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional / Q000276:immunology*; D017634:Self Tolerance
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D063326:Exosome Multienzyme Ribonuclease Complex
keywords: Autoimmune disease; Cytokines; Exosome; Innate immunity; RNA sensors