| First Author | Li Y | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | Sci Rep | Volume | 6 |
| Pages | 22115 | PubMed ID | 26912039 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:250170 | Mgi Id | MGI:6101529 |
| Doi | 10.1038/srep22115 | Citation | Li Y, et al. (2016) Cell intrinsic role of NF-kappaB-inducing kinase in regulating T cell-mediated immune and autoimmune responses. Sci Rep 6:22115 |
| abstractText | NF-kappaB inducing kinase (NIK) is a central component of the noncanonical NF-kappaB signaling pathway. Although NIK has been extensively studied for its function in the regulation of lymphoid organ development and B-cell maturation, the role of NIK in regulating T cell functions remains unclear and controversial. Using T cell-conditional NIK knockout mice, we here demonstrate that although NIK is dispensable for thymocyte development, it has a cell-intrinsic role in regulating the homeostasis and function of peripheral T cells. T cell-specific NIK ablation reduced the frequency of effector/memory-like T cells and impaired T cell responses to bacterial infection. The T cell-conditional NIK knockout mice were also defective in generation of inflammatory T cells and refractory to the induction of a T cell-dependent autoimmune disease, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Our data suggest a crucial role for NIK in mediating the generation of effector T cells and their recall responses to antigens. Together, these findings establish NIK as a cell-intrinsic mediator of T cell functions in both immune and autoimmune responses. |
