RNA2Immune: A Database of Experimentally Supported Data Linking Non-coding RNA Regulation to The Immune System

Abstract

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), such as microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), have emerged as important regulators of the immune system and are involved in the control of immune cell biology, disease pathogenesis, as well as vaccine responses. A repository of ncRNA-immune associations will facilitate our understanding of ncRNA-dependent mechanisms in the immune system and advance the development of therapeutics and prevention for immune disorders. Here, we describe a comprehensive database, RNA2Immune, which aims to provide a high-quality resource of experimentally supported database linking ncRNA regulatory mechanisms to immune cell function, immune disease, cancer immunology, and vaccines. The current version of RNA2Immune documents 50,433 immune-ncRNA associations in 42 host species, including (1) 6690 ncRNA associations with immune functions involving 31 immune cell types; (2) 38,672 ncRNA associations with 348 immune diseases; (3) 4833 ncRNA associations with cancer immunology; and (4) 238 ncRNA associations with vaccine responses involving 26 vaccine types targeting 22 diseases. RNA2Immune provides a user-friendly interface for browsing, searching, and downloading ncRNA-immune system associations. Collectively, RNA2Immune provides important information about how ncRNAs influence immune cell function, how dysregulation of these ncRNAs leads to pathological consequences (immune diseases and cancers), and how ncRNAs affect immune responses to vaccines. RNA2Immune is available at http://bio-bigdata.hrbmu.edu.cn/rna2immune/home.jsp.

Keywords: Cancer immunology; Immune cell; Immune disease; Vaccine; ncRNA.

Figure 1

Data sources and the structure of RNA2Immune HSC, hematopoietic stem cell; ncRNA, non-coding RNA; VIOLIN, vaccine investigation and online information network; MeSH, medical subject heading; AARDA, American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association; GADD, Gene and Autoimmiune Disease Association Database.

Figure 2

Statistics of ncRNA–immune associations in RNA2Immune A. The ten most common ncRNA–immune cell functions in the “Immune Function” section. The upper right pie graph shows the distribution of immune function associations for different immune cell types. B. The number of ncRNA–immune disease associations in different disease categories in the “Immune Disease” section. The upper right pie graph shows the distribution of diseases corresponding to each category. C. The ten most common ncRNA–immune molecules/cells associated with cancers in the “Cancer Immunology” section. D. The number of ncRNA–vaccine associations in different vaccine types in the “Vaccine” section. The upper right pie graph shows the distribution of diseases targeting by vaccines. DC, dendritic cell; NK, natural killer; miRNA, microRNA; lncRNA, long non-coding RNA; circRNA, circular RNA.

Figure 3

The main functions and application of RNA2Immune A. Interface of the “Browse” module. B. Browse result page using CD4⁺ T cells as an example in the “Immune Function” section. C. Interface of the “Quick Search” and “Advanced Search” modules. D. Search result page for “Quick Search” and “Advanced Search”, using mmu-miR-155-5p as an example for the “Quick Search”. E. Interface of detailed information, using mmu-miR-155-5p in the “Vaccine” section as the example. F. Interface of the “Download” module.

Figure 4

An example of RNA2Immune use A. An overview of the input “mmu-miR-155-5p” into the RNA2Immune database. B. miR-155-5p in the regulation of the antiviral response of immune cells. C. miR-155-5p contributes to the pathogenesis of the influenza virus infection. D. miR-155-5p is involved in the regulation of DCs function. E. miR-155-5p is involved in breast cancer by regulating the function of DCs. F. Effects of miR-155-5p on the immune responses to the influenza and breast cancer vaccines.