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Review
. 2012:2012:632329.
doi: 10.1155/2012/632329. Epub 2012 Nov 19.

Natural killer cell regulation by microRNAs in health and disease

Jeffrey W Leong  1 , Ryan P Sullivan, Todd A Fehniger
Affiliations
Review

Natural killer cell regulation by microRNAs in health and disease

Jeffrey W Leong et al. J Biomed Biotechnol. 2012.

Abstract

Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune lymphocytes that are critical for normal host defense against infections and mediate antitumor immune responses. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of small, noncoding RNAs that posttranscriptionally regulate the majority of cellular processes and pathways. Our understanding of how miRNAs regulate NK cells biology is limited, but recent studies have provided novel insight into their expression by NK cells, and how they contribute to the regulation of NK cell development, maturation, survival, and effector function. Here, we review the expression of miRNAs by NK cells, their contribution to cell intrinsic and extrinsic control of NK cell development and effector response, and their dysregulation in NK cell malignancies.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic summary of miRNA biogenesis and mechanism of action to inhibit protein translation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of known miRNA interactions regulating IFN-γ or immediate upstream signals that induce IFN-γ in NK cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Summary of miRNA alterations identified in NK/T malignancies and proposed mechanisms of altering cell growth and survival. (a) Increased miR-21 and miR-155 was identified in malignant cases by Yamanaka et al. [31]. (b) Decreased miR-146a were identified in malignant cases by Paik et al.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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