Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common chronic inflammatory condition of the nasal mucosal tissue. The interleukin-13 (IL-13) signaling pathway is of great importance in the pathogenesis of AR. However, how the signaling molecules in this pathway are regulated, particularly through microRNAs (miRNAs), remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the regulatory role and mechanism of miRNA-143 (miR-143) in IL-13-induced inflammatory cytokine and mucus production in nasal epithelial cells (NECs) from AR patients. Our results showed that forced expression of miR-143 significantly decreased the mRNA and protein expression levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), eotaxin and mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) in IL-13-stimulated NECs. Moreover, we confirmed that miR-143 directly targeted and significantly suppressed IL-13 receptor alpha 1 chain (IL13R alpha 1) gene expression. This study thus suggests that miR-143 regulation of IL-13-induced inflammatory cytokine and mucus production in NECs from AR patients probably partly depends on inhibition of IL13R alpha 1. Therefore, the IL13R alpha 1 signaling pathway may be a potential target for the prevention and treatment of AR by miR-143. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.