| First Author | Zhu B | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 205 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 2295-307 |
| PubMed ID | 18779345 | Mgi Jnum | J:141136 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3817334 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20080187 |
| Citation | Zhu B, et al. (2008) Early growth response gene 2 (Egr-2) controls the self-tolerance of T cells and prevents the development of lupuslike autoimmune disease. J Exp Med 205(10):2295-307 |
| abstractText | Maintaining tolerance of T cells to self-antigens is essential to avoid autoimmune disease. How self-reactive T cells are kept functionally inactive is, however, unknown. In this study, we show that early growth response gene 2 (Egr-2), a zinc-finger transcription factor, is expressed in CD44(high) T cells and controls their proliferation and activation. In the absence of Egr-2, CD44(high), but not CD44(low) T cells, are hyperreactive and hyperproliferative in vivo. The accumulation of activated CD4(+)CD44(high) T cells leads to the development of a late onset lupuslike autoimmune disease characterized by the accumulation of interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-17-producing CD4(+) T cells, loss of tolerance to nuclear antigens, massive infiltration of T cells into multiple organs and glomerulonephritis. We found that the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21cip1 was impaired in Egr-2-deficient T cells, whereas the expression of IFN-gamma and IL-17 in response to T cell receptor ligation was significantly increased, suggesting that Egr-2 activates the expression of genes involved in the negative regulation of T cell proliferation and inflammation. These results demonstrate that Egr-2 is an intrinsic regulator of effector T cells and controls the expansion of self-reactive T cells and development of autoimmune disease. |
