Chemokines in colitis: MicroRNA control

摘要

Huang et al1 identified and tested the role of a specific microRNA (miRNA) in the pathogenesis of IBD. The study of microRNAs is a burgeoning field within epigenetics. These small non-coding RNAs mediate translation-level repression of protein expression by binding to the 3' -untranslated region of specific messenger RNA transcripts. In the innate and adaptive immune response, miRNAs play an important role in negative regulation of inflammatory conditions in the intestine. Inflammatory regulators such as IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and toll-like receptors have been shown to induce miRNA expression in both acute and chronic inflammation.