Cell：microRNA调控免疫系统

哈佛大学医学院免疫疾病研究所的科学家Klaus Rajewsky教授在最新一期的Cell杂志发表综述文章，对microRNA控制免疫系统的基本原则问题进行了归纳总结。
对microRNA的调控研究发现，microRNA（miRNA）对哺乳动物免疫系统具有重要的调控意义。研究者发现用遗传技术敲除某一miRNA或是消减某一miRNA基因的功能（与免疫功能相关的miRNA），对免疫系统的发育会造成重大的破坏作用，导致机体发生疾病，比如说，可能引发自体免疫疾病甚至是癌症。尽管，单个的miRNA就能调节上百个靶位基因影响蛋白表达，一旦影响蛋白的表达就会对生物体的正常生理功能造成影响，也许某些关键蛋白表达量的降低会招来恶果，导致细胞功能异常，甚至产生疾病。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Cell,9 January 2009 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2008.12.027
MicroRNA Control in the Immune System: Basic Principles
Changchun Xiao1,2andKlaus Rajewsky1,,
1 Immune Disease Institute, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA2 Present address: The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
MicroRNA (miRNA) control has emerged as a critical regulatory principle in the mammalian immune system. Genetic ablation of the miRNA machinery, as well as loss or deregulation of certain individual miRNAs, severely compromises immune development and response and can lead to immune disorders like autoimmunity and cancer. Although individual miRNAs modulate protein output from hundreds of target genes, they may impact physiological processes by regulating the concentrations of just a few key cellular proteins that may be components of a single or of functionally interrelated pathways in a given cellular context.