AKT family and miRNAs expression in IL-2 induced CD4(+)T cells

OBJECTIVE(S): Study of non-coding RNAs is considerable to elucidate principal biological questions or design new therapeutic strategies. miRNAs are a group of non-coding RNAs that their functions in PI3K/AKT signaling and apoptosis pathways after T cell activation is not entirely clear. Herein, miRNAs expression and their putative targets in the mentioned pathways were studied in the activated CD4(+)T cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Herein, proliferation rate and IL-2 secretion were measured in treated and untreated cells by IL-2. Putative targets of up-regulated miRNAs were predicted by bioinformatics approaches in the apoptotic and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Then the expression of two putative targets was evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: Proliferation rate of treated cells by IL-2 increased in a dose- and time- dependent manner. Naive and activated CD4(+)T cells induced by different dose of IL-2 secreted abundant amounts of IL-2. Also, in IL-2 un-induced cells (IL-2 depleted cells) after 3 days, decrease of proliferation has been shown. In silico analysis predicted putative targets of up-regulated miRNAs such as AKT1, AKT3 and apoptotic genes in the activated cells induced or un-induced by IL-2. Decrease of AKT3 was shown by Q-RT-PCR as a potential target of miRNAs overexpressed in IL-2 depleted cells. But there was no significant difference in AKT1 expression in two cell groups. CONCLUSION: Our analysis suggests that decrease of AKT3 was likely controlled via up-regulation of specific miRNAs in IL-2 depleted cells. Also it seems that miRNAs play role in induction of different apoptosis pathways in IL-2 induced and un-induced cells.