Project description:The goal of the study was to identify the genes which are regulated by Interleukin-2 in the CD4+ T cells of the scurfy mice during regulatory T-cell deficiency. Scurfy (Sf) mice bear a mutation in the forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) transcription factor, lack regulatory T-cells (Treg), develop multi-organ inflammation, and die prematurely. The major target organs affected are skin, lungs, and liver. Sf mice lacking the Il2 gene (Sf.Il2-/-), despite devoid of Treg, did not develop skin and lung inflammation, but the inflammation in liver, pancreas, submandibular gland and colon remained. Genome-wide microarray analysis revealed hundreds of genes were differentially regulated among Sf, Sf.Il2-/-, and B6 CD4+ T-cells but the most changes were those encoding receptors for trafficking/chemotaxis/retention and lymphokines. Our study suggests that IL-2 controls the skin and lung inflammation in Sf mice in an apparent "organ-specific" manner through two novel mechanisms: by regulating the expression of genes encoding receptors for T-cell trafficking/chemotaxis/retention and by regulating Th2 cell expansion and lymphokine production. Thus, IL-2 is a master regulator for multi-organ inflammation and an underlying etiological factor for various diseases associated with skin and lung inflammation. Methods: CD4+ T cells were purified by Fluorescence Assisted Cell Sorting from the peripheral lymph nodes of (A) three individual Scurfy (Sf; B6.Cg-Foxp3sf/J) male mice, (B) three individual Sf.Il2-/- male mice (Scurfy mice carrying a null Interleukin (IL)-2 gene (B6.129P2-Il2tm1Hor/J)) and (C) a pooled sample of lymph nodes from two B6 (C57BL/6J) mice. All the mice were 3 weeks old. Total RNA was prepared using RNeasy mini kit (Qiagen). RNA samples were converted to cRNA, labeled and hybridized to Affymetrix Mouse 430_2 chips (Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array, Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) at the University of Virginia DNA Sciences Core Facility. 1. RNA from CD4+ T cells purified from pooled peripheral lymph nodes of two 3-week old B6 mice) - 1 biological replicate 2. RNA from CD4+ T-cells purified from peripheral lymph nodes of 3-week old scurfy (Sf) mice - 3 biological replicates. 3. RNA from CD4+ T cells purified from peripheral lymph nodes of Sf.Il2-/- mice - 3 biological replicates.
Project description:Cellular binary fate decisions require the progeny to silence genes associated with the alternative fate. The major subsets of alpha:beta T cells have been extensively studied as a model system for fate decisions. While the transcription factor RUNX3 is required for the initiation of Cd4 silencing in CD8 T cell progenitors, it is not required to maintain the silencing of Cd4 and other helper T lineage genes. The other runt domain containing protein, RUNX1, silences Cd4 in an earlier T cell progenitor, but this silencing is reversed whereas the gene silencing after RUNX3 expression is not reverse. Therefore, we hypothesized that RUNX3 and not RUNX1 recruits other factors that maintains the silencing of helper T lineage genes in CD8 T cells. To this end, we performed a proteomics screen of RUNX1 and RUNX3 to determine candidate silencing factors.
Project description:The goal of the study was to identify the genes which are regulated by Interleukin-2 in the CD4+ T cells of the scurfy mice during regulatory T-cell deficiency. Scurfy (Sf) mice bear a mutation in the forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) transcription factor, lack regulatory T-cells (Treg), develop multi-organ inflammation, and die prematurely. The major target organs affected are skin, lungs, and liver. Sf mice lacking the Il2 gene (Sf.Il2-/-), despite devoid of Treg, did not develop skin and lung inflammation, but the inflammation in liver, pancreas, submandibular gland and colon remained. Genome-wide microarray analysis revealed hundreds of genes were differentially regulated among Sf, Sf.Il2-/-, and B6 CD4+ T-cells but the most changes were those encoding receptors for trafficking/chemotaxis/retention and lymphokines. Our study suggests that IL-2 controls the skin and lung inflammation in Sf mice in an apparent "organ-specific" manner through two novel mechanisms: by regulating the expression of genes encoding receptors for T-cell trafficking/chemotaxis/retention and by regulating Th2 cell expansion and lymphokine production. Thus, IL-2 is a master regulator for multi-organ inflammation and an underlying etiological factor for various diseases associated with skin and lung inflammation. Methods: CD4+ T cells were purified by Fluorescence Assisted Cell Sorting from the peripheral lymph nodes of (A) three individual Scurfy (Sf; B6.Cg-Foxp3sf/J) male mice, (B) three individual Sf.Il2-/- male mice (Scurfy mice carrying a null Interleukin (IL)-2 gene (B6.129P2-Il2tm1Hor/J)) and (C) a pooled sample of lymph nodes from two B6 (C57BL/6J) mice. All the mice were 3 weeks old. Total RNA was prepared using RNeasy mini kit (Qiagen). RNA samples were converted to cRNA, labeled and hybridized to Affymetrix Mouse 430_2 chips (Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Array, Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA) at the University of Virginia DNA Sciences Core Facility.
Project description:We reported transcriptional characterization of LNGFR.FOXP3-expressing scurfy CD4+ T cells from lymph nodes, at day 35 after transfer in scurfy males, where they were able to rescue mice from scurfy autoimmune disease.