First Author | Wu L | Year | 2014 |
Journal | Mol Immunol | Volume | 58 |
Issue | 1 | Pages | 38-49 |
PubMed ID | 24291244 | Mgi Jnum | J:206144 |
Mgi Id | MGI:5548007 | Doi | 10.1016/j.molimm.2013.10.016 |
Citation | Wu L, et al. (2014) Active demethylation of the IL-2 Promoter in CD4+ T cells is mediated by an inducible DNA glycosylase, Myh. Mol Immunol 58(1):38-49 |
abstractText | Epigenetic control of tissue-specific gene expression is often achieved by active demethylation of promoter regions; however, the nature of all the enzymes mediating this remodeling process is not fully clear. Here we describe a 5-methylcytosine glycosylase activity for the murine DNA base excision repair enzyme Myh and show that it is critically involved in remodeling the IL-2 Promoter for transcription. The enzyme is not expressed in naive CD4(+) T cells, but can be transiently induced following T cell activation. T cells deficient in Myh had blunted demethylation of the promoter and impaired IL-2 secretion but not IFN-gamma. An in vitro assay for the glycosylase activity revealed the enzyme to be sequence specific for certain CpG sites in the IL-2 Promoter. These results suggest that DNA demethylation is being selectively used to orchestrate a part of the naive CD4(+) T cell differentiation program. |