miR-199b-5p Regulates Immune-Mediated Allograft Rejection after Lung Transplantation Through the GSK3β and NF-κB Pathways

Emerging evidence indicates that acute rejection mainly associated with the inflammatory response is an independent risk factor for chronic rejection after lung transplantation. Monocytes are the main pro-inflammatory leukocytes infiltrating around the lesions and play vital roles in triggering the acute rejection. In the rat lung transplantation model, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced severe acute rejection was strongly associated with advanced chronic rejection. The exact regulatory mechanism of pro-inflammation in monocytes is not yet clear. In this study, we identified a novel anti-inflammatory effect of miR-199b-5p (miR-199b) through the GSK3β and NF-κB pathways. THP-1 monocytes treated with LPS showed a significant decrease in miR-199b that is inversely correlated to GSK3β expression and NF-κB activation. Furthermore, the NF-κB-associated inflammatory response was reduced due to the overexpression of miR-199b targeting GSK3β, which was rescued by the inhibition of miR-199b. These results indicated that miR-199b attenuated the inflammatory response at least partly through the GSK3β/NF-κB signaling pathways in monocytes. Our data point toward a potentially important role for miR-199b in the inhibition of rejection after lung transplantation.