| First Author | Vanvalkenburgh J | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 208 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 2069-81 |
| PubMed ID | 21875956 | Mgi Jnum | J:177572 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5295508 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20102683 |
| Citation | Vanvalkenburgh J, et al. (2011) Critical role of Bcl11b in suppressor function of T regulatory cells and prevention of inflammatory bowel disease. J Exp Med 208(10):2069-81 |
| abstractText | Dysregulated CD4(+) T cell responses and alterations in T regulatory cells (T(reg) cells) play a critical role in autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The current study demonstrates that removal of Bcl11b at the double-positive stage of T cell development or only in T(reg) cells causes IBD because of proinflammatory cytokine-producing CD4(+) T cells infiltrating the colon. Provision of WT T(reg) cells prevented IBD, demonstrating that alterations in T(reg) cells are responsible for the disease. Furthermore, Bcl11b-deficient T(reg) cells had reduced suppressor activity with altered gene expression profiles, including reduced expression of the genes encoding Foxp3 and IL-10, and up-regulation of genes encoding proinflammatory cytokines. Additionally, the absence of Bcl11b altered the induction of Foxp3 expression and reduced the generation of induced T(reg) cells (iT(reg) cells) after Tgf-beta treatment of conventional CD4(+) T cells. Bcl11b bound to Foxp3 and IL-10 promoters, as well as to critical conserved noncoding sequences within the Foxp3 and IL-10 loci, and mutating the Bcl11b binding site in the Foxp3 promoter reduced expression of a luciferase reporter gene. These experiments demonstrate that Bcl11b is indispensable for T(reg) suppressor function and for maintenance of optimal Foxp3 and IL-10 gene expression, as well as for the induction of Foxp3 expression in conventional CD4(+) T cells in response to Tgf-beta and generation of iT(reg) cells. |
