The Transcription Factor ThPOK Suppresses Runx3 and Imposes CD4(+) Lineage Fate by Inducing the SOCS Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling

Overview

Journal Nat Immunol

Date 2014 Jun 2

PMID 24880459

Citations 36

Authors

Megan A Luckey

Motoko Y Kimura

Adam T Waickman

Lionel Feigenbaum

Alfred Singer

Jung-Hyun Park

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Lineage fate in the thymus is determined by mutually exclusive expression of the transcription factors ThPOK and Runx3, with ThPOK imposing the CD4(+) lineage fate and Runx3 promoting the CD8(+) lineage fate. While it is known that cytokine signals induce thymocytes to express Runx3, it is not known how ThPOK prevents thymocytes from expressing Runx3 and adopting the CD8(+) lineage fate, nor is it understood why ThPOK itself imposes the CD4(+) lineage fate on thymocytes. We now report that genes encoding members of the SOCS (suppressor of cytokine signaling) family are critical targets of ThPOK and that their induction by ThPOK represses Runx3 expression and promotes the CD4(+) lineage fate. Thus, induction of SOCS-encoding genes is the main mechanism by which ThPOK imposes the CD4(+) lineage fate in the thymus.

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