Vlasova-St Louis Irina, Bohjanen Paul R
1 Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota.
J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2014 Apr;34(4):233-41. doi: 10.1089/jir.2013.0108.
Cytokines are necessary for cell communication to enable responses to external stimuli that are imperative for the survival and maintenance of homeostasis. Dysfunction of the cytokine network has detrimental effects on intra- and extracellular environments. Thus, it is critical that the expression of cytokines and the signals transmitted by cytokines to target cells are tightly regulated at numerous levels, including transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Here, we briefly summarize the role of AU-rich elements (AREs) in the regulation of cytokine gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and describe a role for GU-rich elements (GREs) in coordinating the regulation of cytokine signaling. GREs function as post-transcriptional regulators of proteins that control cellular activation, growth, and apoptosis. GREs and AREs work in concert to coordinate cytokine signal transduction pathways. The precise regulation of cytokine signaling is particularly important, because its dysregulation can lead to human diseases.
细胞因子对于细胞间通讯至关重要，能够使机体对外部刺激作出反应，而这些反应对于内环境稳态的维持和生存必不可少。细胞因子网络功能失调会对细胞内和细胞外环境产生有害影响。因此，至关重要的是，细胞因子的表达以及细胞因子传递给靶细胞的信号在包括转录和转录后水平在内的多个层面受到严格调控。在此，我们简要总结富含AU元件（ARE）在转录后水平对细胞因子基因表达调控中的作用，并描述富含GU元件（GRE）在协调细胞因子信号传导调控中的作用。GRE作为控制细胞活化、生长和凋亡的蛋白质的转录后调节因子发挥作用。GRE和ARE协同作用以协调细胞因子信号转导途径。细胞因子信号传导的精确调控尤为重要，因为其失调会导致人类疾病。
