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Antimicrobial responses play an important role in maintaining intestinal heath. Recently we reported that miR-511 may regulate TLR4 responses leading to enhanced intestinal inflammation. However, the exact mechanism remained unclear. In this study we investigated the effect of miR-511 deficiency on anti-microbial responses and DSS-induced intestinal inflammation. miR-511-deficient mice were protected from DSS-induced colitis as shown by significantly lower disease activity index, weight loss and histology scores in the miR-511-deficient group. Furthermore, reduced inflammatory cytokine responses were observed in colons of miR-511 deficient mice. In vitro studies with bone marrow-derived M2 macrophages showed reduced TLR3 and TLR4 responses in miR-511-deficient macrophages compared to WT macrophages. Subsequent RNA sequencing revealed Wdfy1 as the potential miR-511 target. WDFY1 deficiency is related to impaired TLR3/TLR4 immune responses and the expression was downregulated in miR-511-deficient macrophages and colons. Together, this study shows that miR-511 is involved in the regulation of intestinal inflammation through downstream regulation of TLR3 and TLR4 responses via Wdfy1.

In 2020, three articles were published on a protein that can activate the immune system by binding to macrophage-inducible C-type lectin receptor (Mincle). In the articles, the protein was referred to as ‘SAP130, a subunit of the histone deacetylase complex.’ However, the Mincle ligand the authors aimed to investigate is splicing factor 3b subunit 3 (SF3B3). This splicing factor is unrelated to SAP130 (Sin3A associated protein 130, a subunit of the histone deacetylase-dependent Sin3A corepressor complex). The conclusions in the three articles were formulated for SF3B3, while the researchers used qPCR primers and antibodies against SAP130. We retraced the origins of the ambiguity about the two proteins and found that Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) added a Nature publication on SF3B3 as a reference for Sin3A associated protein 130 in 2016. Subsequently, companies such as Abcam referred to OMIM and the Nature article in their products for both SF3B3 and SAP130. In turn, the mistake by OMIM followed in the persistent and confusing use of ‘SAP130′ (spliceosome-associated protein 130) as an alternative symbol for SF3B3. With this report, we aim to eliminate the persistent confusion and separate the literature regarding the two proteins.