MiR-150 impairs inflammatory cytokine production by targeting ARRB-2 after blocking CD28/B7 costimulatory pathway

MiR-150, a major modulator negatively regulating the development and differentiation of various immune cells, is widely involved in orchestrating inflammation. In transplantation immunity, miR-150 can effectively induce immune tolerance, although the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In the current study, we found that miR-150 is elevated after blocking CD28/B7 co-stimulatory signaling pathway and impaired IL-2 production by targeting ARRB2. Further investigation suggested that miR-150 not only repressed the level of ARRB2/PDE4 directly but also prevented AKT/ARRB2/PDE4 trimer recruitment into the lipid raft by inhibiting the activities of PI3K and AKT through the cAMP-PKA-Csk signaling pathway. This leads to the interruption of cAMP degradation and subsequently results in inhibition of the NF-kB pathway and reduced production of both IL-2 and TNF. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that miR-150 can effectively prevent CD28/B7 co-stimulatory signaling transduction, decrease production of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-2 and TNF, and elicit the induction of immune tolerance. Therefore, miR-150 could become a novel potential therapeutic target in transplantation immunology.