| First Author | Jorritsma PJ | Year | 2003 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 170 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 2427-34 |
| PubMed ID | 12594266 | Mgi Jnum | J:81980 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2450477 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.170.5.2427 |
| Citation | Jorritsma PJ, et al. (2003) Role of TCR-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation in the regulation of early IL-4 expression in naive CD4+ T cells. J Immunol 170(5):2427-34 |
| abstractText | Although extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) activation influences IL-4 production in various experimental systems, its role during Th differentiation is unclear. In this study, we show that Erk plays a critical role in IL-4 expression during TCR-induced Th differentiation of naive CD4(+) T cells. Stimulation of CD4(+) T cells with a high affinity peptide resulted in sustained Erk activation and Th1 differentiation. However, reduction of Erk activity led to a dramatic increase in IL-4 production and Th2 generation. Analysis of RNA and nuclear proteins of CD4(+) T cells 48 h after stimulation revealed that this was due to early IL-4 expression. Interestingly, transient Erk activation resulted in altered AP-1 DNA binding activity and the induction of an AP-1 complex that was devoid of Fos protein and consisted of Jun-Jun dimers. These data show that in the presence of a strong TCR signal, IL-4 expression can be induced in naive CD4(+) T cells by altering the strength of Erk activation. In addition, these data suggest that TCR-induced Erk activation is involved in the regulation of IL-4 expression by altering the composition of the AP-1 complex and its subsequent DNA binding activity. |
