The differentiation of helper T cell subsets is influenced by a diversity of microRNAs. In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Wilson and colleagues use a comprehensive transcriptomics approach to identify microRNA signatures associated with the TH1, TH2, TH17 and induced regulatory T cell subsets in vitro and in vivo. TH2 cells generated in vivo have a miRNA profile clearly distinguishable from that of other subsets and, unexpectedly, also show very little overlap with their TH2 counterparts generated in vitro. In particular, the microRNAs miR-155 and miR-146a are dynamically regulated in TH2 cells generated in vivo, with the former promoting and the latter regulating effector function in a cell-intrinsic manner. miR-155 regulates expression of the S1P1 receptor for the bioactive lipid S1P and may therefore exert its effects in part by controlling migration to sites of tissue inflammation. Targeting miR-155 may therefore alleviate type 2 pathologies such as allergy.
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Fehervari, Z. MicroRNA and TH2 cells. Nat Immunol 15, 832 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2975
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ni.2975
