NLRP3 inflammasome activity is negatively controlled by miR-223

F Bauernfeind, A Rieger, FA Schildberg… - The Journal of …, 2012 - journals.aai.org
F Bauernfeind, A Rieger, FA Schildberg, PA Knolle, JL Schmid-Burgk, V Hornung
The Journal of Immunology, 2012journals.aai.org
Inflammasomes are multiprotein signaling platforms that form upon sensing microbe-or
damage-associated molecular patterns. Upon their formation, caspase-1 is activated,
leading to the processing of certain proinflammatory cytokines and the initiation of a special
type of cell death, known as pyroptosis. Among known inflammasomes, NLRP3 takes on
special importance because it appears to be a general sensor of cell stress. Moreover,
unlike other inflammasome sensors, NLRP3 inflammasome activity is under additional …
Abstract
Inflammasomes are multiprotein signaling platforms that form upon sensing microbe-or damage-associated molecular patterns. Upon their formation, caspase-1 is activated, leading to the processing of certain proinflammatory cytokines and the initiation of a special type of cell death, known as pyroptosis. Among known inflammasomes, NLRP3 takes on special importance because it appears to be a general sensor of cell stress. Moreover, unlike other inflammasome sensors, NLRP3 inflammasome activity is under additional transcriptional regulation. In this study, we identify the myeloid-specific microRNA miR-223 as another critical regulator of NLRP3 inflammasome activity. miR-223 suppresses NLRP3 expression through a conserved binding site within the 3′ untranslated region of NLRP3, translating to reduced NLRP3 inflammasome activity. Although miR-223 itself is not regulated by proinflammatory signals, its expression varies among different myeloid cell types. Therefore, given the tight transcriptional control of NLRP3 message itself, miR-223 functions as an important rheostat controlling NLRP3 inflammasome activity.
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