Downregulation of E Protein Activity Augments an ILC2 Differentiation Program in the Thymus.
Hong-Cheng WangLiangyue QianYing ZhaoJoni MengarelliIndra AdriantoCourtney G MontgomeryJoseph F UrbanKar-Ming FungXiao-Hong SunPublished in: Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) (2017)
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are important regulators in various immune responses. The current paradigm states that all newly made ILCs originate from common lymphoid progenitors in the bone marrow. Id2, an inhibitor of E protein transcription factors, is indispensable for ILC differentiation. Unexpectedly, we found that ectopically expressing Id1 or deleting two E protein genes in the thymus drastically increased ILC2 counts in the thymus and other organs where ILC2 normally reside. Further evidence suggests a thymic origin of these mutant ILC2s. The mutant mice exhibit augmented spontaneous infiltration of eosinophils and heightened responses to papain in the lung and increased ability to expulse the helminth parasite, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis These results prompt the questions of whether the thymus naturally has the capacity to produce ILC2s and whether E proteins restrain such a potential. The abundance of ILC2s in Id1 transgenic mice also offers a unique opportunity for testing the biological functions of ILC2s.
Keyphrases
- nk cells
- bone marrow
- transcription factor
- immune response
- induced apoptosis
- amino acid
- mesenchymal stem cells
- signaling pathway
- wild type
- oxidative stress
- inflammatory response
- cell cycle arrest
- quality improvement
- adipose tissue
- cell death
- toll like receptor
- peripheral blood
- high fat diet induced
- microbial community
- antibiotic resistance genes