Publication Date:
2011-11-18
Description:
Abstract 357 NK cells are innate immune lymphocytes important for early host defense against infectious pathogens and malignant transformation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that control a wide variety of cellular processes by specific targeting of mRNA 3'UTRs. The Dicer1 gene encodes a conserved enzyme essential for miRNA processing, and Dicer1 deficiency leads to a global defect in miRNA biogenesis. While miRNA expression and regulation of adaptive T and B lymphocytes are well established, their role in the regulation of NK cell biology remains unclear. We postulated that miRNAs serve an essential role in orchestrating NK cell development and activation. To test this hypothesis, we combined lymphocyte-restricted hCD2-Cre transgenic, Rosa26-YFP-Cre-reporter, and Dicer1 ‘floxed' mice. In this model, 25–50% of Dicer1 wt/wt NK cells are YFP+ marking expression of Cre. As expected, YFP+ NK cells from Dicer1 fl/fl and fl/wt mice were confirmed to excise Dicer1, and exhibit decreased total miRNA content based on Nanostring profiling and real-time qPCR (Dicer1 fl/fl: P
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine