MicroRNA-146a deficiency enhances host protection against murine cytomegalovirus.

ABSTRACT: Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphoid cells that protect a host from viral infections and malignancies. MicroRNA-146a (miR-146a) is an important regulator of immune function that is highly expressed in NK cells and is further upregulated during murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection. Here we utilized mice with a global targeted deletion of miR-146a to understand its impact on the innate immune responses to MCMV infection. MiR-146a^-/- mice were protected from lethal MCMV infection, which was intrinsic to the hematopoietic compartment based on bone marrow chimera experiments. NK cell depletion abrogated this protection, implicating NK cells as critical for the miR-146a^-/- protection from MCMV. Surprisingly, NK cells from miR-146a-deficient mice were largely sim

SUBMITTER: Wong P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12356503 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature