Project description:Coordinated repression of gene expression by evolutionarily conserved microRNA (miRNA) clusters and paralogs ensures that miRNAs efficiently exert their biological impact. Combining both loss- and gain-of-function genetic approaches, here we show that the miR-23~27~24 clusters regulate multiple aspects of T cell biology, particularly Th2 immunity. Low expression of this miRNA family confers proper effector T cell function at both physiological and pathological settings. Further studies in T cells with exaggerated regulation by individual members of the miR-23~27~24 clusters revealed miR-24 and miR-27 collaboratively limit Th2 responses through targeting IL-4 and GATA3 in both direct and indirect manners. Intriguingly, while overexpression of the entire miR-23 cluster also negatively impacts other Th lineages, enforced expression of miR-24, in contrast to miR-23 and miR-27, actually promotes the differentiation of Th1, Th17 and iTreg cells, implying that under certain conditions, miRNA families can fine tune the biological effects of their regulation by having individual members antagonize rather than cooperate with each other. Together, our results identify a miRNA family with important immunological roles and suggest tight regulation of miR-23~27~24 clusters in T cells is required to maintain optimal effector function and to prevent aberrant immune responses.
Project description:Coordinated repression of gene expression by evolutionarily conserved microRNA (miRNA) clusters and paralogs ensures that miRNAs efficiently exert their biological impact. Combining both loss- and gain-of-function genetic approaches, here we show that the miR-23~27~24 clusters regulate multiple aspects of T cell biology, particularly Th2 immunity. Low expression of this miRNA family confers proper effector T cell function at both physiological and pathological settings. Further studies in T cells with exaggerated regulation by individual members of the miR-23~27~24 clusters revealed miR-24 and miR-27 collaboratively limit Th2 responses through targeting IL-4 and GATA3 in both direct and indirect manners. Intriguingly, while overexpression of the entire miR-23 cluster also negatively impacts other Th lineages, enforced expression of miR-24, in contrast to miR-23 and miR-27, actually promotes the differentiation of Th1, Th17 and iTreg cells, implying that under certain conditions, miRNA families can fine tune the biological effects of their regulation by having individual members antagonize rather than cooperate with each other. Together, our results identify a miRNA family with important immunological roles and suggest tight regulation of miR-23~27~24 clusters in T cells is required to maintain optimal effector function and to prevent aberrant immune responses. naïve T cells isolated from mice with T cell-specific overexpression of the entire miR-23 cluster or individual miR-23 family members as well as from mice with T cell-specific deletion of both miR-23a/b clusters
Project description:Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are essential for generating protective humoral immunity. To date, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as important players in regulating Tfh cell biology. Here, we show that loss of miR-23~27~24 clusters in T cells resulted in elevated Tfh cell frequencies upon different immune challenges whereas overexpression of this miRNA family led to reduced Tfh cell responses. Mechanistically, miR-23~27~24 clusters coordinately control Tfh cells through targeting a network of genes that are crucial for Tfh cell biology. Among them, thymocyte selection-associated HMG-box protein (TOX) was identified as a central transcription regulator in Tfh cell development. TOX is highly up-regulated in both mouse and human Tfh cells in a BCL6-dependent manner. In turn, TOX promotes the expression of multiple molecules that play critical roles in Tfh cell differentiation and function. Collectively, our study on miR-23~27~24-mediated control of humoral immunity reveals a TOX-driven regulatory circuit in orchestrating Tfh cell responses.
Project description:To determine how the miR-23-27-24 miRNA clusters regulate adipose tissue macrophage (ATM) programming in obesity, we placed control mice and mice containing a myeloid-specific deletion of the clusters on high-fat diet for 20weeks. Following dietary intervention, we performed bulk RNA-seq on F4/80 bead-selected ATMs from obese adipose tissue of control and knockout mice.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of cell fate decisions in immune responses. They act by coordinate repression of multiple target genes, a property that we exploited to uncover regulatory networks that govern T helper-2 (Th2) cells. A functional screen of individual miRNAs in primary T cells uncovered multiple miRNAs that inhibited Th2 cell differentiation. Among these were miR-24 and miR-27, miRNAs coexpressed from two genomic clusters, which each functioned independently to limit interleukin-4 (IL-4) production. Mice lacking both clusters in T cells displayed increased Th2 cell responses and tissue pathology in a mouse model of asthma. Gene expression and pathway analyses placed miR-27 upstream of genes known to regulate Th2 cells. They also identified targets not previously associated with Th2 cell biology which regulated IL-4 production in unbiased functional testing. Thus, elucidating the biological function and target repertoire of miR-24 and miR-27 reveals regulators of Th2 cell biology.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are tightly regulated in the immune system, as aberrant expression of miRNAs often results in hematopoietic malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Previously, elevated levels of miR-27 in T cells isolated from multiple sclerosis patients has been suggested to facilitate disease progression through inhibiting Th2 immunity and promoting pathogenic Th1 responses. Here we demonstrate that while mice with T cell-specific overexpression of miR-27 harbor dysregulated Th1 responses and develop autoimmune pathology, these disease phenotypes are not driven by miR-27 in effector T cells in a cell-autonomous manner but rather resulted from a perturbed regulatory T (Treg) cell compartment. Excessive miR-27 expression in T cells severely impairs Treg cell differentiation. Moreover, Treg cells with exaggerated miR-27-mediated gene regulation exhibit diminished homeostasis and suppressor function in vivo. Mechanistically, miR-27 represses several known as well as previously uncharacterized targets that play critical roles in controlling multiple aspects of Treg cell biology. Collectively, our data show miR-27 functions as a key regulator in Treg cell development and function and suggest that proper regulation of miR-27 is pivotal to safeguard Treg cell-mediated immunological tolerance.