The ability of murine γδ T cells to rapidly produce the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-17 (IL-17) or interferon-γ (IFN-γ) underlies their crucial and non-redundant roles in several (patho)physiological contexts, such as tissue homeostasis, infection, autoimmunity and cancer. This capacity stems from a complex process of ‘developmental pre-programming’ in the thymus, after which a large fraction of γδ T cells migrate to peripheral sites already committed to producing IL-17 or IFN-γ, unlike their ab T cell counterparts1. So far, several miRNAs have been implied in the control of the differentiation and IFN-γ and IL-17 levels by ab Th1 and Th17 cells, respectively2. However, little is known about the action of these post-transcriptional regulators on γδ T cell differentiation. Schmolka et al. showed that miR-146a is selectively enriched in IL-17-biased CD27- γδ T cells and restricts their co-production of IFN-γ by targeting Nod1 mRNA, therefore regulating γδ T cell plasticity3. This isolated work illustrates the need of a more comprehensive study of the miRNA repertoires of γδ T cells and of the regulatory networks they take part in the control of IFN-γ and IL-17 production by these cells.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
