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A new micro RNA has an important impact on controlling differentiation of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) in small intestines. It is expected that the discovery will contribute to the development of immunotherapy for bowel diseases by controlling differentiation of IEL cell which is known to have close relationship with immune system in bowel inflammatory diseases.
* IEL cell (Intraepithelial Lymphocytes): It is intraepithelial lymphocytes in bowel, playing an important role in maintaining immune function and homeostasis in bowel
* MicroRNA (miRNA): It is a small RNA that cannot produce protein. It is a factor that deters expression by attaching to mRNA, which is involved in cell metabolism, increase, aging and collapse of cells.
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology (President Chang Kyu-tae, KRIBB) Immunotherapy Convergence Research Group Dr. Kim Tae-don (corresponding author: Choi In-pyo/Kim Tae-don, lead author: Dr. Seo Sang-hwan) conducted the research with the support of project for senior researchers by Ministry of Science and ICT and convergence research project. The study was published on the online version of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (IF 13.081) as of Aug. 7, which is the world’s renowned journal in the field of allergy and immunology.
※ Paper title: MicroRNA-150 controls differentiation of intraepithelial lymphocytes via TGF-β receptor II regulation
IEL exists between epithelial cells in bowel and plays an important role in maintaining the function and homeostasis of epithelial cells in bowel through response to digested nutrition, pathogenic materials and microorganism in bowel.
The research team identified micro RNA called ʻmiR-150ʼ which influence the expression of protein of TGF-β receptor II, that is signal transmission medium for IEL cell differentiation and found that miR-150 plays an important role in IEL cell differentiation.
The research team confirmed that the number of IEL cells is far lower than normal IEL cells in miR-150 deprived mouse and damage to mucous membrane is far more severe in the bowel mucous membrane disease model.
miR-150 presented a molecular model that induces IEL cell differentiation [miR-150 →↓myc/myb → ↑miR-20a → ↓TGF-β receptor II]. Therefore, miR-150 increases the expression of TGF-β receptor II, playing an important role in IEL differentiation and maintaining homeostasis of mucous membrane immune system.
The study presents a new possibility for the function of bowel immune cells related to mRNA and differentiation of immune cells by identifying the role of miR-150 in differentiation of IEL cell in small intestine and presented the concept of controlling homeostasis of bowel immune system for the first time.
In the bowel disease model, IEL cell has an important role in bowel disease and miR-150 and miR-20a are decisive target molecules for IEL cell differentiation. This presents the possibility of improving treatment for bowel disease, treatment to keep homeostasis and side-effects of digestive mucous membrane cells caused by administration of anti-cancer drug.