| First Author | Nitta T | Year | 2006 |
| Journal | PLoS Biol | Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | e103 |
| PubMed ID | 16509771 | Mgi Jnum | J:107746 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3621847 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040103 |
| Citation | Nitta T, et al. (2006) IAN family critically regulates survival and development of T lymphocytes. PLoS Biol 4(4):e103 |
| abstractText | The IAN (immune-associated nucleotide-binding protein) family is a family of functionally uncharacterized GTP-binding proteins expressed in vertebrate immune cells and in plant cells during antibacterial responses. Here we show that all eight IAN family genes encoded in a single cluster of mouse genome are predominantly expressed in lymphocytes, and that the expression of IAN1, IAN4, and IAN5 is significantly elevated upon thymic selection of T lymphocytes. Gain-of-function experiments show that the premature overexpression of IAN1 kills immature thymocytes, whereas short hairpin RNA-mediated loss-of-function studies show that IAN4 supports positive selection. The knockdown of IAN5 perturbs the optimal generation of CD4/CD8 double-positive thymocytes and reduces the survival of mature T lymphocytes. We also show evidence suggesting that IAN4 and IAN5 are associated with anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, whereas IAN1 is associated with pro-apoptotic Bax. Thus, the IAN family is a novel family of T cell-receptor-responsive proteins that critically regulate thymic development and survival of T lymphocytes and that potentially exert regulatory functions through the association with Bcl-2 family proteins. |
