The interleukin 13 (IL-13) pathway in human macrophages is modulated by microRNA-155 via direct targeting of interleukin 13 receptor ?1 (IL13R?1)

Martinez-Nunez, Rocio T., Louafi, Fethi and Sanchez-Elsner, Tilman (2011) The interleukin 13 (IL-13) pathway in human macrophages is modulated by microRNA-155 via direct targeting of interleukin 13 receptor ?1 (IL13R?1). The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286 (3), 1786-1794. (doi:10.1074/jbc.M110.169367). (PMID:21097505)

Abstract

Macrophages play a central role in the balance and efficiency of the immune response and are at the interface between innate and adaptive immunity. Their phenotype is a delicate equilibrium between the M1 (classical, pro-Th(1)) and M2 (alternative, pro-Th(2)) profiles. This balance is regulated by cytokines such as interleukin 13 (IL-13), a typical pro-M2-Th(2) cytokine that has been related to allergic disease and asthma. IL-13 binds to IL-13 receptor ?1 (IL13R?1), a component of the Type II IL-4 receptor, and exerts its effects by activating the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) through phosphorylation. MicroRNAs are short (?22 nucleotide) inhibitory non-coding RNAs that block the translation or promote the degradation of their specific mRNA targets. By bioinformatics analysis, we found that microRNA-155 (miR-155) is predicted to target IL13R?1. This suggested that miR-155 might be involved in the regulation of the M1/M2 balance in macrophages by modulating IL-13 effects. miR-155 has been implicated in the development of a healthy immune system and function as well as in the inflammatory pro-Th(1)/M1 immune profile. Here we have shown that in human macrophages, miR-155 directly targets IL13R?1 and reduces the levels of IL13R?1 protein, leading to diminished activation of STAT6. Finally we also demonstrate that miR-155 affects the IL-13-dependent regulation of several genes (SOCS1, DC-SIGN, CCL18, CD23, and SERPINE) involved in the establishment of an M2/pro-Th(2) phenotype in macrophages. Our work shows a central role for miR-155 in determining the M2 phenotype in human macrophages.

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Contributors

Author: Tilman Sanchez-Elsner

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