Work

Cutting Edge: KIR Antisense Transcripts Are Processed into a 28-Base PIWI-Like RNA in Human NK Cells

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Killer Ig-like receptors (KIRs) are expressed in a variegated, clonally restricted fashion on NK cells and are important determinants of NK cell function. Although silencing of individual KIR genes is strongly correlated with the presence of CpG dinucleotide methylation within the promoter, the mechanism responsible for silencing has not been identified. Our results show that antisense transcripts mediate KIR transcriptional silencing through a novel PIWI-like 28-base small RNA. Although PIWI RNA-mediated silencing of transposable elements within germ cells have been described, this is the first report that identifies a PIWI-like RNA in an immune somatic cell lineage and identifies a mechanism that may be broadly used in orchestrating immune development.

Source: The Journal of Immunology

DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1000855

Authors: Frank Cichocki, Todd Lenvik, Neeraj Sharma, Gong Yun, Stephen K Anderson, Jeffrey S Miller

Institutions: University of Minnesota, Masonic Cancer Center, National Cancer Institute

Language: English

Topic: Immune Cell Function and Interaction

Subfield: Immunology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Cancer Institute