Selective autophagy degrades DICER and AGO2 and regulates miRNA activity

Micro (mi)RNAs form a class of short RNAs (~21 nt) that post-transcriptionally regulate partially complementary messenger (m)RNAs. Each miRNA may target tens-to-hundreds of transcripts to control key biological processes. While the biochemical reactions underpinning miRNA biogenesis and activity are relatively well-defined(1,2), and the importance of their homeostasis increasingly evident, the processes underlying regulation of miRNA pathways in vivo are still largely elusive(3). Autophagy, a degradative process in which cytoplasmic material is targeted into double-membrane vacuoles, is recognized to critically contribute to cellular homeostasis. Here, we show that the miRNA-processing enzyme, DICER, and the major miRNA effector, AGO2, are targeted for degradation as miRNA-free entities by the selective autophagy receptor NDP52. Autophagy establishes a checkpoint required for continued loading of miRNA into AGO2; accordingly, NDP52 and autophagy are required for homeostasis and activity of tested miRNAs. Autophagy also engages post-transcriptional regulation of the DICER mRNA, underscoring the importance of fine-tuned regulation of the miRNA pathway. These findings have implications for human diseases linked to misregulated autophagy, DICER- and miRNA-levels, including cancer.