Runx3 and T-box proteins cooperate to establish the transcriptional program of effector CTLs

F Cruz-Guilloty, ME Pipkin, IM Djuretic… - Journal of Experimental …, 2009 - rupress.org
F Cruz-Guilloty, ME Pipkin, IM Djuretic, D Levanon, J Lotem, MG Lichtenheld, Y Groner
Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2009rupress.org
Activation of naive CD8+ T cells with antigen induces their differentiation into effector
cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs). CTLs lyse infected or aberrant target cells by exocytosis of
lytic granules containing the pore-forming protein perforin and a family of proteases termed
granzymes. We show that effector CTL differentiation occurs in two sequential phases in
vitro, characterized by early induction of T-bet and late induction of Eomesodermin (Eomes),
T-box transcription factors that regulate the early and late phases of interferon (IFN) γ …
Activation of naive CD8+ T cells with antigen induces their differentiation into effector cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs). CTLs lyse infected or aberrant target cells by exocytosis of lytic granules containing the pore-forming protein perforin and a family of proteases termed granzymes. We show that effector CTL differentiation occurs in two sequential phases in vitro, characterized by early induction of T-bet and late induction of Eomesodermin (Eomes), T-box transcription factors that regulate the early and late phases of interferon (IFN) γ expression, respectively. In addition, we demonstrate a critical role for the transcription factor Runx3 in CTL differentiation. Runx3 regulates Eomes expression as well as expression of three cardinal markers of the effector CTL program: IFN-γ, perforin, and granzyme B. Our data point to the existence of an elaborate transcriptional network in which Runx3 initially induces and then cooperates with T-box transcription factors to regulate gene transcription in differentiating CTLs.
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