MicroRNA-302b negatively regulates IL-1β production in response to MSU crystals by targeting IRAK4 and EphA2

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a pivotal proinflammatory cytokine that is strongly associated with the inflammation of gout. However, the underlying mechanism through which the production of IL-1β is regulated has not been fully elucidated. Our previous work identified that miR-302b had an important immune regulatory role in bacterial lung infections. This study was conducted to evaluate the function of miR-302b on monosodium urate (MSU) crystal-induced inflammation and its mechanism. METHODS: The expression pattern and the immune-regulatory role of miR-302b were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. The functional targets of miR-302b were predicted by bioinformatics, and then validated by genetic approaches. In addition, the clinical feature of miR-302b was analyzed using serum samples of patients with gouty arthritis. RESULTS: The extremely high expression of miR-302b was observed in both macrophages and mouse air membranes treated with MSU. Intriguingly, overexpression of miR-302b regulated NF-κB and caspase-1 signaling, leading to significantly attenuate MSU-induced IL-1β. By genetic analysis, miR-302b exhibited inhibitory function on IRAK4 and EphA2 by binding to their 3′-UTR regions. Corporately silencing IRAK4 and EphA2 largely impaired MSU-induced IL-1β protein production. Moreover, it was also found that miR-302b and EphA2 suppressed the migration of macrophages. Finally, it was observed that high expression of miR-302b was a general feature in patients with gouty arthritis. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that miR-302b can regulate IL-1β production in MSU-induced inflammation by targeting NF-κB and caspase-1 signaling, and may be a potential therapeutic target for gouty arthritis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13075-018-1528-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.