| First Author | Liu B | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Development | Volume | 140 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 780-8 |
| PubMed ID | 23362346 | Mgi Jnum | J:194053 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5470199 | Doi | 10.1242/dev.085035 |
| Citation | Liu B, et al. (2013) Cbx4 regulates the proliferation of thymic epithelial cells and thymus function. Development 140(4):780-8 |
| abstractText | Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are the main component of the thymic stroma, which supports T-cell proliferation and repertoire selection. Here, we demonstrate that Cbx4, a Polycomb protein that is highly expressed in the thymic epithelium, has an essential and non-redundant role in thymic organogenesis. Targeted disruption of Cbx4 causes severe hypoplasia of the fetal thymus as a result of reduced thymocyte proliferation. Cell-specific deletion of Cbx4 shows that the compromised thymopoiesis is rooted in a defective epithelial compartment. Cbx4-deficient TECs exhibit impaired proliferative capacity, and the limited thymic epithelial architecture quickly deteriorates in postnatal mutant mice, leading to an almost complete blockade of T-cell development shortly after birth and markedly reduced peripheral T-cell populations in adult mice. Furthermore, we show that Cbx4 physically interacts and functionally correlates with p63, which is a transcriptional regulator that is proposed to be important for the maintenance of the stemness of epithelial progenitors. Together, these data establish Cbx4 as a crucial regulator for the generation and maintenance of the thymic epithelium and, hence, for thymocyte development. |
