| First Author | Dobenecker MW | Year | 2018 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 215 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 1101-1113 |
| PubMed ID | 29523590 | Mgi Jnum | J:261589 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6155912 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20170084 |
| Citation | Dobenecker MW, et al. (2018) Signaling function of PRC2 is essential for TCR-driven T cell responses. J Exp Med 215(4):1101-1113 |
| abstractText | Differentiation and activation of T cells require the activity of numerous histone lysine methyltransferases (HMT) that control the transcriptional T cell output. One of the most potent regulators of T cell differentiation is the HMT Ezh2. Ezh2 is a key enzymatic component of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which silences gene expression by histone H3 di/tri-methylation at lysine 27. Surprisingly, in many cell types, including T cells, Ezh2 is localized in both the nucleus and the cytosol. Here we show the presence of a nuclear-like PRC2 complex in T cell cytosol and demonstrate a role of cytosolic PRC2 in T cell antigen receptor (TCR)-mediated signaling. We show that short-term suppression of PRC2 precludes TCR-driven T cell activation in vitro. We also demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of PRC2 in vivo greatly attenuates the severe T cell-driven autoimmunity caused by regulatory T cell depletion. Our data reveal cytoplasmic PRC2 is one of the most potent regulators of T cell activation and point toward the therapeutic potential of PRC2 inhibitors for the treatment of T cell-driven autoimmune diseases. |
