Department of Human Genetics, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
J Biomed Sci. 2010 Jul 1;17(1):53. doi: 10.1186/1423-0127-17-53.
Intercellular signaling by cytokines is a vital feature of the innate immune system. In skin, an inflammatory response is mediated by cytokines and an entwined network of cellular communication between T-cells and epidermal keratinocytes. Dysregulated cytokine production, orchestrated by activated T-cells homing to the skin, is believed to be the main cause of psoriasis, a common inflammatory skin disorder. Cytokines are heavily regulated at the transcriptional level, but emerging evidence suggests that regulatory mechanisms that operate after transcription play a key role in balancing the production of cytokines. Herein, we review the nature of cytokine signaling in psoriasis with particular emphasis on regulation by mRNA destabilizing elements and the potential targeting of cytokine-encoding mRNAs by miRNAs. The proposed linkage between mRNA decay mediated by AU-rich elements and miRNA association is described and discussed as a possible general feature of cytokine regulation in skin. Moreover, we describe the latest attempts to therapeutically target cytokines at the RNA level in psoriasis by exploiting the cellular RNA interference machinery. The applicability of cytokine-encoding mRNAs as future clinical drug targets is evaluated, and advances and obstacles related to topical administration of RNA-based drugs targeting the cytokine circuit in psoriasis are described.
细胞因子的细胞间信号传递是先天免疫系统的一个重要特征。在皮肤中,炎症反应是由细胞因子介导的,T 细胞和表皮角质形成细胞之间存在着相互交织的细胞通讯网络。人们认为,归巢到皮肤的活化 T 细胞所介导的细胞因子产生失调是导致银屑病这一常见炎症性皮肤病的主要原因。细胞因子在转录水平受到严格调控,但新出现的证据表明,转录后发挥作用的调节机制在平衡细胞因子的产生方面起着关键作用。本文特别强调了 mRNA 不稳定性元件的调节作用以及 microRNA 对细胞因子编码 mRNA 的潜在靶向作用,综述了银屑病中细胞因子信号转导的本质。描述并讨论了由富含 AU 的元件介导的 mRNA 衰变与 microRNA 结合之间的可能联系,将其作为细胞因子在皮肤中调节的一个可能的普遍特征。此外,本文还描述了利用细胞内 RNA 干扰机制在银屑病中从 RNA 水平靶向治疗细胞因子的最新尝试。评估了细胞因子编码 mRNA 作为未来临床药物靶点的适用性,并描述了针对银屑病细胞因子回路的基于 RNA 的药物的局部给药的进展和障碍。