IFNG-AS1 (gene) explained

IFNG antisense RNA 1 is a long non-coding RNA that in humans is encoded by the IFNG-AS1 gene.^[1] It is a positive regulator of interferon gamma in T and NK cells.^[2]

IFNG-AS1 (Tmevpg1, NeST) is encoded by a gene near the Ifng locus. Some studies have shown that IFNG-AS1 expression is dependent on T-bet. In fact, transcription of IFNG-AS1 is regulated by T-bet. The upregulation of this LncRNA could enhance the production of IFN-γ from Th1 cells by cooperation of T-bet. In the other hand, in human genomic region, there are some preserved DNase 1 hypersensitivity sites (HS) between Ifng and IFNG-AS1 which induce transcription factors such as NF-κB and ETS proto-oncogene 1 (Ets-1). T-bet could control chromatin remodeling through recruiting These HS. These hypersensitivity sites have transcriptional enhancer activity to enhance or repress transcription of either IFNG or IFNG-AS1. T-bet through this epigenetic mechanism could affect on expression of IFNG-AS1. Also IFNG-AS1 with binding to WD repeat domain 5 (WDR5), stimulates the formation of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation at the IFNG gene and affect on the enhancement of this gene expression. Also, the effective role of IFNG-AS1 in many protective actions, including enhancing the expression of IFN-γ in the immune response in brucellosis patients, suggest a new molecular interaction response to brucella infection.^[3]

Further reading

• Collier SP, Collins PL, Williams CL, Boothby MR, Aune TM . Cutting edge: influence of Tmevpg1, a long intergenic noncoding RNA, on the expression of Ifng by Th1 cells . Journal of Immunology . 189 . 5 . 2084–2088 . September 2012 . 22851706 . 3424368 . 10.4049/jimmunol.1200774 .
• Peng H, Liu Y, Tian J, Ma J, Tang X, Rui K, Tian X, Mao C, Lu L, Xu H, Jiang P, Wang S . The Long Noncoding RNA IFNG-AS1 Promotes T Helper Type 1 Cells Response in Patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis . Scientific Reports . 5 . 17702 . December 2015 . 26634912 . 4669486 . 10.1038/srep17702 . 2015NatSR...517702P .
• Li H, Hao Y, Zhang D, Fu R, Liu W, Zhang X, Xue F, Yang R . Aberrant expression of long noncoding RNA TMEVPG1 in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia . Autoimmunity . 49 . 7 . 496–502 . November 2016 . 27050808 . 10.3109/08916934.2016.1167192 . 23831262 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Entrez Gene: IFNG antisense RNA 1 . 2018-04-09 .
2. Stein N, Berhani O, Schmiedel D, Duev-Cohen A, Seidel E, Kol I, Tsukerman P, Hecht M, Reches A, Gamliel M, Obeidat A, Charpak-Amikam Y, Yamin R, Mandelboim O . IFNG-AS1 Enhances Interferon Gamma Production in Human Natural Killer Cells . iScience . 11 . 466–473 . January 2019 . 30661002 . 6354656 . 10.1016/j.isci.2018.12.034 . 2019iSci...11..466S .
3. Gheitasi R, Jourghasemi S, Pakzad I, Hosseinpour Sarmadi V, Samieipour Y, Sekawi Z, Azizi Jalilian F . A potential marker in brucellosis, long non coding RNA IFNG-AS1 . Molecular Biology Reports . 46 . 6 . 6495–6500 . December 2019 . 31595441 . 10.1007/s11033-019-05095-w .