Work

Gfi-1 plays an important role in IL-2-mediated Th2 cell expansion

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: Enforced expression of growth factor independent 1 (Gfi-1), a transcription repressor induced by T cell activation and IL-4/Stat6 signaling, strikingly enhances Th2 cell expansion. Using conditionally Gfi1-deficient mice prepared for this study, we show that in vitro or in vivo deletion of this factor dramatically reduces Th2, but not Th1, cell expansion in response to IL-2. Both increased cell apoptosis and reduced cell proliferation resulted from Gfi1 deletion. IL-2-Stat5 signaling was partially reduced in Gfi1-deficient Th2 cells, but overexpression of Stat5 failed to restore normal Th2 expansion in these cells, suggesting that Gfi-1 also functioned downstream of, or in parallel with, Stat5 signaling. Reduced Th2 cell expansion in the absence of Gfi-1 was confirmed by the diminished frequency of IL-4-producing cells when these mice were infected with Schistosoma mansoni.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0608981103

Authors: Jinfang Zhu, Dragana Jankovic, Alex Grinberg, Liying Guo, William E. Paul

Institutions: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Language: English

Topic: T-cell and B-cell Immunology

Subfield: Immunology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases