A MicroRNA-Mediated Positive Feedback Regulatory Loop of the NF-κB Pathway in Litopenaeus vannamei

In the evolutionarily conserved canonical NF-κB pathway, degradation of the NF-κB inhibitor IκB in the cytoplasmic NF-κB/IκB complex allows the liberated NF-κB to translocate into the nucleus to activate various target genes. The regulatory mechanism governing this process needs further investigation. In this study, a novel microRNA, temporarily named miR-1959, was first identified from an invertebrate Litopenaeus vannamei miR-1959 targets the 3'-untranslated region of the IκB homolog Cactus gene and reduces the protein level of Cactus in vivo, whereas the NF-κB homolog Dorsal directly binds the miR-1959 promoter to activate its transcription. Therefore, miR-1959 mediates a positive feedback regulatory loop, in that Dorsal activates miR-1959 expression, and in turn, miR-1959 inhibits the expression of Cactus, further leading to enhanced activation of Dorsal. Moreover, miR-1959 regulates the expression of many antimicrobial peptides in vivo and is involved in antibacterial immunity. To our knowledge, it is the first discovery of a microRNA-mediated feedback loop that directly regulates the NF-κB/IκB complex. This positive feedback loop could collaborate with the known NF-κB/IκB negative loop to generate a dynamic balance to regulate the activity of NF-κB, thus constituting an effective regulatory mechanism at the critical node of the NF-κB pathway.