microRNA-155 Key To Immune System ‘Tango’

Mimicking a key player in how immune cells ‘dance’ with each other to produce antibodies could help boost immune responses.

AsianScientist (Aug. 11, 2016) – An international research collaboration has shown how a molecule called microRNA-155 (miR-155) is a key player in the maturation of antibody-producing B-cells. The research was published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

In the present study, the researchers focused on the roles of microRNAs during the critical period when the immune system first detects invaders such as viruses or bacteria. At this time, cells called T-follicular helper cells proliferate and migrate to a different area of the lymph organs to interact with B-cells, prompting the maturation of B-cells, which produce antibodies that provide long-term protection against infection.

“They do a sort of tango,” said The Scripps Research Institute Associate Professor Xiao Changchun, who co-led the study with Professor Liu Wen-Hsien of Xiamen University in Fuijan province, China.

Using a technique called deep sequencing, the research team identified miR-155 as a potential part of this process. Using mouse models, they showed that miR-155 works by repressing a protein called Peli1. When Peli1 is repressed, this leaves a molecule called c-Rel free to jump in and promote normal T-cell proliferation.

“If you could increase T-cell proliferation using a molecule that mimics miR-155, maybe you could boost that to 90 to 95 percent,” said Xiao.

The research may apply to treating autoimmune diseases, which occur when antibodies mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues. For example, an mRNA inhibitor could dial back miR-155’s response when T-cell proliferation and antibody production is in overdrive in autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the researchers say.


The article can be found at: Liu et al. (2016) A MiR-155-Peli1-c-Rel Pathway Controls the Generation and Function of T-Follicular Helper Cells.

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Source: The Scripps Research Institute; Photo: Shutterstock.
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