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MicroRNA in vivo precipitation identifies miR-151-3p as a computational unpredictable miRNA to target Stat3 and inhibits innate IL-6 production

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 15, pages 99–110 (2018)Cite this article

A Correction to this article was published on 27 November 2019

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) function as important regulators in the immune response and inflammation. Several approaches have been reported to computationally predict miRNAs and their potential targets. However, there are still many miRNA–target interactions that are unpredictable by using the current computational algorithms. We established a miRNA in vivo precipitation method (miRIP) to identify unpredictable miRNAs with definite targets in these cells. Because Stat3 is a well-known transcription factor involved in innate immunity and inflammation, we utilized the miRIP method to identify miRNAs that bind Stat3 mRNA in macrophages. Among the captured miRNAs, miR-151-3p was confirmed to interact with Stat3 mRNA 3′-UTR and downregulate the Stat3 protein levels. LPS stimulation decreased miR-151-3p expression, thereby increasing IL-6 production. Therefore, we found that miR-151-3p inhibited LPS-induced IL-6 production by targeting Stat3. These data further confirmed miRIP as an efficient method to identify unpredictable miRNAs and explore miRNAs-mediated regulation in innate immunity and inflammation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Taoyong Chen and Dr Mingjin Yang for helpful discussion and Ms Mei Jin for technical assistance. This work was supported by Grants from the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB530502, 2015CB964403) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31470849, 31390431 and 81471569), and the Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology (2015QA1404700).

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  1. Xiang Liu and Xiaoping Su: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology & Institute of Immunology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Xiang Liu, Xiaoping Su, Sheng Xu, Mingyan Huang & Xuetao Cao

  2. Department of Immunology & Center for Immunotherapy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China

    Huamin Wang & Xuetao Cao

  3. Institute of Immunology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Dan Han, Jiangxue Li & Xuetao Cao

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  1. Xiang Liu
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Liu, X., Su, X., Xu, S. et al. MicroRNA in vivo precipitation identifies miR-151-3p as a computational unpredictable miRNA to target Stat3 and inhibits innate IL-6 production. Cell Mol Immunol 15, 99–110 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2017.82

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