MicroRNAs regulate skin Langerhans cells
Abstract Langerhans cells (LCs), the skin residing dendritic cells (DCs), control both the induction of adaptive immunity, and immune tolerance in skin and are involved in variety of skin disease development. However, the regulatory mechanisms involved in the development and functions of LCs have not been completely elucidated. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of non-coding small RNAs, are recognized as important regulators of protein-coding genes through the inhibition of mRNA translation. Using Cre-loxP Dicer deletion mouse models, our laboratory and others have reported that deletion of miRNAs by CD11c-Cre or hLangerin-Cre significantly reduced the number and interrupted the function of LCs, indicating that miRNAs are required for LC homeostasis and function after birth. While there are more than 1000 experimentally reported miRNAs, very few individual miRNAs are linked to LCs so far. We were the first to report that miR-150 and miR-223 differentially regulated LC-induced T cell prolifer