Next-generation sequencing of microRNAs in primary human polarized macrophages

Macrophages are important for mounting inflammatory responses to tissue damage or infection by invading pathogens, and therefore modulation of their cellular functions is essential for the success of the immune system as well as for maintaining tissue homeostasis. Small non-coding RNAs are important regulatory elements of gene expression and microRNAs are the most widely known to be fundamental for the proper development of cells of the immune system. Macrophages can exhibit different phenotypes, depending on the cytokine environment they encounter in the affected tissues. We have analyzed the microRNA expression profiles during maturation of human primary monocytes into macrophages and polarization by pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines. Here we describe the analysis of next-generation sequencing data deposited in EMBL–EBI ArrayExpress under accession number E-MTAB-1969 and associated with the study published by Cobos Jiménez and collaborators in Physiological Genomics in 2014 (1). The data presented here contributes to our understanding of microRNA expression profiles in human monocytes and macrophages and will also serve as a resource for novel microRNAs and other small RNA species expressed in these cells.