First Author | Cimmino L | Year | 2008 |
Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 181 |
Issue | 4 | Pages | 2338-47 |
PubMed ID | 18684923 | Mgi Jnum | J:140193 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3812259 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.181.4.2338 |
Citation | Cimmino L, et al. (2008) Blimp-1 attenuates Th1 differentiation by repression of ifng, tbx21, and bcl6 gene expression. J Immunol 181(4):2338-47 |
abstractText | T cell-specific deletion of Blimp-1 causes abnormal T cell homeostasis and function, leading to spontaneous, fatal colitis in mice. Herein we explore the role of Blimp-1 in Th1/Th2 differentiation. Blimp-1 mRNA and protein are more highly expressed in Th2 cells compared with Th1 cells, and Blimp-1 attenuates IFN-gamma production in CD4 cells activated under nonpolarizing conditions. Although Blimp-1-deficient T cells differentiate normally to Th2 cytokines in vitro, Blimp-1 is required in vivo for normal Th2 humoral responses to NP-KLH (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylacetyl/keyhole lymphocyte hemocyanin) immunization. Lack of Blimp-1 in CD4 T cells causes increased IFN-gamma, T-bet, and Bcl-6 mRNA. By chromatin immunoprecipitation we show that Blimp-1 binds directly to a distal regulatory region in the ifng gene and at multiple sites in tbx21 and bcl6 genes. Our data provide evidence that Blimp-1 functions in Th2 cells to reinforce Th2 differentiation by repressing critical Th1 genes. |