Abstract
During the entire processes of thymus organogenesis, maturation, and involution, gene regulation occurs post-transcriptionally via recently discovered microRNA (miRNA) transcripts. Numerous reports indicate that miRNAs may be involved in the construction of a normal thymic microenvironment, which constitutes a critical component to support T lymphocyte development. MiRNAs are also expressed in thymic stromal cells including thymic epithelial cells (TECs) during maturation and senescence. This review focuses on the function of miRNAs in thymic development and involution. A better understanding of these processes will provide new insights into the regulatory network of TECs and further comprehension of how genes control TECs to maintain the thymic microenvironment during thymus development and aging, thus supporting a normal cellular immune system.
Highlights
The thymus plays a critical role in the cellular immune system by generating T lymphocytes, which are involved in anti-tumor immunity, anti-viral, and anti-intracellular infections, as well as the establishment of self-tolerance to avoid autoimmune disorders
Dicer deletion can result in a distinct reduction of invariant natural killer T cells in the thymus and other organs with immune functions, which indicates that the Dicer-dependent miRNA pathway plays a critical role in iNKT cell development, function, and homeostasis [42,43,44]
In the various stages of lymphocyte development identified by mutating the thymus, thymic epithelial cell (TEC) themselves are arrested at different stages, indicating that TEC differentiation is tightly dependent on T-cell development
Summary
The thymus plays a critical role in the cellular immune system by generating T lymphocytes, which are involved in anti-tumor immunity, anti-viral, and anti-intracellular infections, as well as the establishment of self-tolerance to avoid autoimmune disorders. The ubiquitous and abundant existence of such small, non-protein-coding miRNAs in worms, plants, and animals plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression primarily at the post-transcriptional level by cleavage and/or translational repression of messenger RNAs. It has become evident that miRNAs control a wide range of developmental and physiological pathways including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. We focus on the specific miRNAs that are involved in the thymic stroma, and how these play a role in thymic epithelial cell (TEC) development. Through understanding these roles, we can obtain new insights regarding the. Our review aims to reveal potential genetic targets and identify possible therapeutic tools for patients with thymic developmental diseases, which may lead to novel strategies to rejuvenate the functions of an aged thymus or delay thymic aging
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