Control of cytokine mRNA expression by RNA-binding proteins and microRNAs

Cytokines are critical mediators of inflammation and host defenses. regulation of cytokines can occur at various stages of gene expression,including transcription,mrna export,and post- transcriptional and translational levels. among these modes of regulation,post-transcriptional regulation has been shown to play a vital role in controlling the expression of cytokines by modulating mrna stability. the stability of cytokine mrnas,including tnfα,il-6,and il-8,has been reported to be altered by the presence of au-rich elements (ares) located in the 3′-untranslated regions (3′utrs) of the mrnas. numerous rna-binding proteins and micrornas bind to these 3′utrs to regulate the stability and/or translation of the mrnas. thus,this paper describes the cooperative function between rna-binding proteins and mirnas and how they regulate au-rich elements containing cytokine mrna stability/degradation and translation. these mrna control mechanisms can potentially influence inflammation as it relates to oral biology,including periodontal diseases and oral pharyngeal cancer progression. © 2012 international & american associations for dental research.