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. 2017 Jun 5;214(6):1737-1752.
doi: 10.1084/jem.20160462. Epub 2017 May 9.

Myeloid-derived miR-223 regulates intestinal inflammation via repression of the NLRP3 inflammasome

Affiliations

Myeloid-derived miR-223 regulates intestinal inflammation via repression of the NLRP3 inflammasome

Viola Neudecker et al. J Exp Med. .

Abstract

MicroRNA (miRNA)-mediated RNA interference regulates many immune processes, but how miRNA circuits orchestrate aberrant intestinal inflammation during inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is poorly defined. Here, we report that miR-223 limits intestinal inflammation by constraining the nlrp3 inflammasome. miR-223 was increased in intestinal biopsies from patients with active IBD and in preclinical models of intestinal inflammation. miR-223-/y mice presented with exacerbated myeloid-driven experimental colitis with heightened clinical, histopathological, and cytokine readouts. Mechanistically, enhanced NLRP3 inflammasome expression with elevated IL-1β was a predominant feature during the initiation of colitis with miR-223 deficiency. Depletion of CCR2+ inflammatory monocytes and pharmacologic blockade of IL-1β or NLRP3 abrogated this phenotype. Generation of a novel mouse line, with deletion of the miR-223 binding site in the NLRP3 3' untranslated region, phenocopied the characteristics of miR-223-/y mice. Finally, nanoparticle-mediated overexpression of miR-223 attenuated experimental colitis, NLRP3 levels, and IL-1β release. Collectively, our data reveal a previously unappreciated role for miR-223 in regulating the innate immune response during intestinal inflammation.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
miR-223 regulates acute intestinal inflammation. (A) hsa-miR-223 expression was assessed in intestinal mucosal biopsies from patients with either CD or UC. n = 4–10 patients/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Bonferroni’s multiple comparison test. (B) DSS (3% wt/vol) was administered in drinking water ad libitum to B6.WT mice. Colonic mmu-miR-223 expression was determined from mice undergoing DSS-colitis (days 0, 2, 4, and 6). n = 3–5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (C) Histopathology scores from DSS-colitis on days 0, 2, 4, and 6 of treatment (3% wt/vol). n = 5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (D) Neutrophils were depleted with 300 µg (i.p.) anti-Ly6G (1A8) or isotype control on days 0 and 1 after DSS. Monocytes were depleted with 20 µg (i.p.) anti-CCR2 (MC21) or isotype control on days 0 and 1 after DSS. Mice were euthanized on day 2 after DSS, and miR-223 expression was analyzed in colon tissues. n = 5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (E) Weight loss during DSS-colitis was expressed as the percentage of change from day 0. n = 9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (F) Clinical DAI was a composite of weight change (percentage of day 0), stool score, and occult blood index. n = 9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (G) Colon lengths of DSS-treated mice were assessed at the time of necropsy with representative macroscopic images. n = 9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (H) Histopathology scores from WT and miR-223-/y colons after DSS-colitis. n = 9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (I) Representative micrographs of colon H&E from WT and miR-223-/y mice 6 d after DSS-colitis. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001 versus the indicated counterparts from three independent experiments. Bars, 100 µm.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Hematopoietic-derived miR-223 constrains experimental DSS-colitis. BM chimeric mice were generated after irradiation of WT (CD45.1) or miR-223-/y (CD45.2) mice. 8 wk after irradiation, DSS was administered in drinking water ad libitum (3% wt/vol) for 6 d. (A) Clinical DAI was a composite of weight changes (percentage of day 0), stool score, and occult blood index. n = 5–10 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (B) Colon lengths were assessed at the time of necropsy, and representative macroscopic images were acquired. n = 5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (C) Histopathology scores from WT and miR-223-/y colons. n = 5–10 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (D) Representative micrographs of colon H&E from WT and miR-223-/y mice 6 d after DSS-colitis. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001 versus WT counterpart from two independent experiments. Bars, 100 µm.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Onset of colitis in miR-223-/y mice is characterized by the enhanced expression of IL-1β and influx of neutrophils and monocytes. DSS was administered in drinking water ad libitum (3% wt/vol) to WT and miR-223-/y mice for 2 d. (A–D) Flow cytometry characterized collagenase digested colons for the presence of live, CD45+ CD11b+ myeloid cells that were neutrophils (Ly6G+ MHCII; A), monocytes (Ly6C+ MHCII; B), intermediate monocytes (Ly6C+ MHCII+; C), macrophages (Ly6C MHCII+; D), and dendritic cells (MHCII+ CD11c+ CD11b; E). n = 4 mice/group; statistical significance determined by two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni test. (F) Inflammatory cytokine expression was quantified in whole colon tissues from WT or miR-223-/y mice after DSS by LEGENDplex bead array (see Materials and methods) or ELISA (IL-18). n = 4 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (G–I) Relative gene expression of the neutrophil and monocyte chemokines CXCL1 (G), CXCL2 (H), and CCL2 (I) was measured by RT-PCR from whole colon tissue and expressed relative to 18s. n = 5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 versus the indicated counterpart from two independent experiments.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Increased NLRP3 inflammasome activity in BMDMs and colons from miR-223-/y mice during DSS-colitis. (A) Schematic of in silico miR-223 binding sequence to the 3′ UTR of the mouse NLRP3 and conservation across multiple species. (B) ELISA measurement of IL-1β in whole colon biopsies from WT and miR-233-/y mice on day 6 after DSS-colitis. n = 5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (C) Western immunoblot assessment of NLRP3, pro–IL-1β, cleaved IL-1β, ASC, and β-actin in whole colon biopsies from WT and miR-233-/y mice on day 6 after DSS-colitis. Representative immunoblot from three independent mice. (D) Western immunoblot assessment of NLRP3, IL-1β, and β-actin in BMDM after 6-h treatment with media vehicle or LPS (100 ng/ml). Representative immunoblot from three independent mice. (E–J) BMDMs were cultured for 5 d and primed with LPS (100 ng/ml) for 3 h, and NLRP3 was activated with ATP (1 mM) for 3 h. Gene expression of IL-1β (E), IL-18 (F), and TNF (G) were assessed by quantitative PCR. n = 3–4 mice/group; statistical significance determined by two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni test. Secreted cytokines IL-1β (H), IL-18 (I), and TNF (J), were quantified in cell-free supernatants by ELISA. n = 3–4 mice/group; statistical significance determined by two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni test. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.001 versus the indicated counterpart from two independent experiments.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Depletion of CCR2+ monocytes attenuates DSS-colitis and IL-1β in miR-223-/y mice. DSS was administered in drinking water ad libitum (3% wt/vol) for 6 d to miR-223-/y mice. Mice were treated on days 0–5 with anti-Ly6G (1A8; 300 µg/d, i.p.), anti-CCR2 (MC21; 20 µg/d, i.p.), or isotype vehicles and euthanized 24 h after the final treatment. (A) Representative flow cytometry analysis from miR-223-/y mice subjected to DSS (3% wt/vol; day 2). (B) Neutrophils were identified as live, CD45+ singlets, SSC-Ahigh GR1high CD11b+; monocytes were identified as live, CD45+ singlets, SSC-Ahigh GR1int CD11b+. n = 3 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (C) Histopathology scores from miR-223-/y mice after DSS-colitis. n = 5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (D) Representative micrographs of colon H&E from miR-223-/y mice after DSS-colitis. (E) IL-1β was measured by ELISA from whole colon tissue. n = 5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (F–J) mRNA for IL-1β (F), TNF (G), IL-6 (H), CXCL1 (I), and iNOS (J) was assessed by QPCR from whole colon tissue. n = 4–5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001 versus the indicated counterpart from two independent experiments. Bars, 100 µm.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Inhibition of NLRP3 or IL-1β attenuates DSS-colitis in miR-223-/y mice. DSS was administered in drinking water ad libitum (3% wt/vol) for 6 d to WT and miR-223-/y mice. miR-223-/y mice received the small molecule inhibitor of NLRP3, MCC950 (20 mg/kg/d, i.p.); the IL-1 receptor antagonist, anakinra (20 mg/kg/d, i.p.); or saline vehicle and were euthanized 24 h after the final treatment. (A) Weight loss during colitis was expressed as the percentage of change from day 0. n = 7–9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (B) Clinical DAI was a composite of weight changes (percentage of day 0), stool score, and occult blood index. n = 7–9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (C) Colon lengths of DSS-treated mice were assessed at the time of necropsy. n = 6–9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (D) Representative macroscopic images of colons after treatment. (E) Histopathology scores from WT and miR-223-/y colons after DSS-colitis. n = 6–9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (F) Representative micrographs of colon H&E from WT and miR-223-/y mice after treatment. (G and H) Flow cytometry–characterized collagenase digested colons for the presence of live, CD45+ CD11b+ myeloid cells that were neutrophils (Ly6G+ MHCII-; G) and monocytes (Ly6C+ MHCII-; H). n = 3–5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. (I–K) Inflammatory cytokine expression was quantified in whole colon tissues from WT or miR-223-/y mice after treatment by LEGENDplex bead array (see Materials and methods). n = 5–7 mice/group; statistical significance determined by ANOVA with Newman–Keuls multiple comparison test. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001 versus the indicated counterparts from two independent experiments. Bars, 100 µm.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Nlrp3m223del mice display increased NLRP3 activation in vitro and susceptibility to DSS-colitis. (A) Neutrophils were cultured ex vivo from WT (+/+) or Nlrp3m223del (del/del) mice and stimulated with LPS (1 or 100 ng/ml) for 3 h, as indicated. Samples were lysed in SDS loading buffer and NLRP3, and β-actin protein expression was analyzed by Western immunoblot. Representative immunoblot from three independent mice. (B and C) Neutrophils were cultured with LPS (100 ng/ml) for 3 h, followed by 3 h with nigericin (10 mM), and supernatants were collected for IL-1β (B) or TNF (C) measurement by ELISA. n = 4 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. DSS was administered in drinking water ad libitum (3% wt/vol) for 6 d to WT and Nlrp3m223del mice. (D) Weight loss during colitis was expressed as the percentage of change from day 0. n = 3 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (E) Colon lengths were assessed at the time of necropsy from WT and Nlrp3m223del mice after DSS. n = 3 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (F) Histopathology scores from WT and Nlrp3m223del colons after DSS. n = 3 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (G) Representative micrographs of colon H&E from WT and Nlrp3m223del mice after DSS-colitis. (H) The frequencies of monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils were analyzed in WT and Nlrp3m223del mice by flow cytometry as a percentage of myeloid cells (gated on CD45+ CD11b+ cells) in the colon at day 2 after DSS treatment. n = 3 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 versus the indicated counterparts. Data are representative of two independent experiments with three to four mice per group. Bars, 1 mm.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Nanoparticle delivery of an miR-223 mimetic attenuates experimental DSS-colitis. DSS was administered in drinking water ad libitum (3% wt/vol) for 6 d to WT mice. Mice were treated with 50 µg (via retro-orbital injection) of either control (Cel-miR239b) or miR-223 mimetic in a nanoparticle solution on days 1 and 3 after DSS administration. (A) miR-223 expression was measured in whole colon tissue by QPCR on day 4 after DSS. (B) Weight loss during treatment was expressed as the percentage of change from day 0. n = 9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (C) Clinical DAI was a composite of weight changes (percentage of day 0), stool score, and bleeding index. n = 9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (D) Colonic histopathology scores after treatment. n = 9 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (E) Representative micrographs of colon H&E from treated mice after DSS-colitis. (F) Western immunoblot assessment of NLRP3, ASC, and β-actin in whole colon biopsies. Representative immunoblots from three independent mice. (G) Relative mRNA was assessed by quantitative PCR for NLRP3. n = 3–5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (H) ELISA measurement of IL-1β whole colon biopsies. n = 3–5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. (I) Relative mRNA was assessed by QPCR for IL-1, TNF, IL-6, and CXCL1 in whole colon tissues. n = 3–5 mice/group; statistical significance determined by unpaired Student’s t test. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 versus the indicated counterpart from two independent experiments. Bars, 100 µm.

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