Proprotein convertase FURIN constrains Th2 differentiation and is critical for host resistance against Toxoplasma gondii.

ABSTRACT: The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin enzymes proteolytically convert immature proproteins into bioactive molecules, and thereby they serve as key regulators of cellular homeostasis. The archetype proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin, FURIN, is a direct target gene of the IL-12/STAT4 pathway and it is upregulated in Th1 cells. We have previously demonstrated that FURIN expression in T cells critically regulates the maintenance of peripheral immune tolerance and the functional maturation of pro-TGF-β1 in vivo, but FURIN's role in cell-mediated immunity and Th polarization has remained elusive. In this article, we show that T cell-expressed FURIN is essential for host resistance against a prototypic Th1 pathogen, Toxoplasma gondii, and for the generation of pathogen-specific Th1 lymph

SUBMITTER: Oksanen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4261955 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature