| First Author | Biswas PS | Year | 2010 |
| Journal | J Clin Invest | Volume | 120 |
| Issue | 9 | Pages | 3280-95 |
| PubMed ID | 20697158 | Mgi Jnum | J:165281 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4836787 | Doi | 10.1172/JCI42856 |
| Citation | Biswas PS, et al. (2010) Phosphorylation of IRF4 by ROCK2 regulates IL-17 and IL-21 production and the development of autoimmunity in mice. J Clin Invest 120(9):3280-95 |
| abstractText | Deregulated production of IL-17 and IL-21 plays a key pathogenic role in many autoimmune disorders. A delineation of the mechanisms that underlie the inappropriate synthesis of IL-17 and IL-21 in autoimmune diseases can thus provide important insights into potential therapies for these disorders. Here we have shown that the serine-threonine kinase Rho-associated, coiled-coil-containing protein kinase 2 (ROCK2) becomes activated in mouse T cells under Th17 skewing conditions and phosphorylates interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), a transcription factor that is absolutely required for the production of IL-17 and IL-21. We furthermore demonstrated that ROCK2-mediated phosphorylation of IRF4 regulated the synthesis of IL-17 and IL-21 and the differentiation of Th17 cells. Whereas CD4+ T cells from WT mice activated ROCK2 physiologically under Th17 conditions, CD4+ T cells from 2 different mouse models of spontaneous autoimmunity aberrantly activated ROCK2 under neutral conditions. Moreover, administration of ROCK inhibitors ameliorated the deregulated production of IL-17 and IL-21 and the inflammatory and autoantibody responses observed in these autoimmune mice. Our findings thus uncover a crucial link among ROCK2, IRF4, and the production of IL-17 and IL-21 and support the idea that selective inhibition of ROCK2 could represent an important therapeutic regimen for the treatment of autoimmune disorders. |
