Title | Stability and function of regulatory T cells expressing the transcription factor T-bet. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2017 |
Authors | Levine AG, Mendoza A, Hemmers S, Moltedo B, Niec RE, Schizas M, Hoyos BE, Putintseva EV, Chaudhry A, Dikiy S, Fujisawa S, Chudakov DM, Treuting PM, Rudensky AY |
Journal | Nature |
Volume | 546 |
Issue | 7658 |
Pagination | 421-425 |
Date Published | 2017 06 15 |
ISSN | 1476-4687 |
Keywords | Animals, Autoimmunity, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Cell Separation, Female, Immune Tolerance, Lymphocyte Activation, Male, Mice, T-Box Domain Proteins, T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory, Th1 Cells, Th17 Cells, Th2 Cells |
Abstract | Adaptive immune responses are tailored to different types of pathogens through differentiation of naive CD4 T cells into functionally distinct subsets of effector T cells (T helper 1 (T1), T2, and T17) defined by expression of the key transcription factors T-bet, GATA3, and RORγt, respectively. Regulatory T (T) cells comprise a distinct anti-inflammatory lineage specified by the X-linked transcription factor Foxp3 (refs 2, 3). Paradoxically, some activated T cells express the aforementioned effector CD4 T cell transcription factors, which have been suggested to provide T cells with enhanced suppressive capacity. Whether expression of these factors in T cells-as in effector T cells-is indicative of heterogeneity of functionally discrete and stable differentiation states, or conversely may be readily reversible, is unknown. Here we demonstrate that expression of the T1-associated transcription factor T-bet in mouse T cells, induced at steady state and following infection, gradually becomes highly stable even under non-permissive conditions. Loss of function or elimination of T-bet-expressing T cells-but not of T-bet expression in T cells-resulted in severe T1 autoimmunity. Conversely, following depletion of T-bet T cells, the remaining T-bet cells specifically inhibited T1 and CD8 T cell activation consistent with their co-localization with T-bet effector T cells. These results suggest that T-bet T cells have an essential immunosuppressive function and indicate that T cell functional heterogeneity is a critical feature of immunological tolerance. |
DOI | 10.1038/nature22360 |
Alternate Journal | Nature |
PubMed ID | 28607488 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC5482236 |
Grant List | / HHMI / Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States P30 CA008748 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States R37 AI034206 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States T32 GM007739 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States |
Submitted by kej2006 on June 6, 2018 - 4:10pm