microRNA Regulation of Inflammatory Responses

Ryan M. O'Connell, Dinesh S. Rao, David Baltimore
2012 Annual Review of Immunology  
The mammalian inflammatory response is a rapid and complex physiological reaction to noxious stimuli including microbial pathogens. Although inflammation plays a valuable role in combating infection, its dysregulation often occurs in people and can cause a variety of pathologies, ranging from chronic inflammation, to autoimmunity, to cancer. In recent years, our understanding of both the cellular and molecular networks that regulate inflammation has improved dramatically. Although much of the
more » ... cus has been on the study of protein regulators of inflammation, recent evidence also points to a critical role for a specific class of noncoding RNAs, called microRNAs (miRNAs), in managing certain features of the inflammatory process. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of miRNAs and their connection to inflammatory responses. Additionally, we consider the link between perturbations in miRNA levels and the onset of human inflammatory diseases.
doi:10.1146/annurev-immunol-020711-075013 pmid:22224773 fatcat:jw4xuw5bvvg2zficeax7kvceau