| First Author | Mucida D | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Nat Immunol | Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 281-9 |
| PubMed ID | 23334788 | Mgi Jnum | J:193392 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5468362 | Doi | 10.1038/ni.2523 |
| Citation | Mucida D, et al. (2013) Transcriptional reprogramming of mature CD4(+) helper T cells generates distinct MHC class II-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Nat Immunol 14(3):281-9 |
| abstractText | TCRalphabeta thymocytes differentiate into either CD8alphabeta(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes or CD4(+) helper T cells. This functional dichotomy is controlled by key transcription factors, including the helper T cell master regulator ThPOK, which suppresses the cytolytic program in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-restricted CD4(+) thymocytes. ThPOK continues to repress genes of the CD8 lineage in mature CD4(+) T cells, even as they differentiate into effector helper T cell subsets. Here we found that the helper T cell fate was not fixed and that mature, antigen-stimulated CD4(+) T cells terminated expression of the gene encoding ThPOK and reactivated genes of the CD8 lineage. This unexpected plasticity resulted in the post-thymic termination of the helper T cell program and the functional differentiation of distinct MHC class II-restricted CD4(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes. |
