6533b82bfe1ef96bd128ce02
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Blimp1 Prevents Methylation of Foxp3 and Loss of Regulatory T Cell Identity at Sites of Inflammation
Thomas KornRupert OellingerAri WaismanAjithkumar VasanthakumarTommy RegenGarima GargAndreas MuschaweckhAxel KalliesAxel KalliesMichael HiltenspergerLakshmi Reddy PalamBenjamin KnierLilian AlyReuben KapurChristian PeterMark H. KaplanJochen HuehnGildas LepennetierHelena Domínguez MorenoStefan FloessGunnar SchottaYifan ZhanYifan ZhanRoland Radsubject
0301 basic medicineMaleEncephalomyelitis Autoimmune ExperimentalBlimp1CNS2Regulatory T cellInflammationchemical and pharmacologic phenomenaBiologyT-Lymphocytes RegulatoryGeneral Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular BiologyArticleepigenetic regulationDNA Methyltransferase 3AEpigenesis Genetic03 medical and health sciencesGenomic ImprintingMice0302 clinical medicineImmune systemDownregulation and upregulationmedicineAnimalsEpigeneticsDNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferaseslcsh:QH301-705.5Regulation of gene expressionInterleukin-6FOXP3Forkhead Transcription FactorsDNA methyltransferaseshemic and immune systemsDNA Methylation3. Good healthCell biologyddc:Mice Inbred C57BL030104 developmental biologymedicine.anatomical_structureregulatory T cellslcsh:Biology (General)inflammationFoxp3DNA methylationFemalePositive Regulatory Domain I-Binding Factor 1medicine.symptomCNS030217 neurology & neurosurgerydescription
Summary Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells restrict immune pathology in inflamed tissues; however, an inflammatory environment presents a threat to Treg cell identity and function. Here, we establish a transcriptional signature of central nervous system (CNS) Treg cells that accumulate during experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) and identify a pathway that maintains Treg cell function and identity during severe inflammation. This pathway is dependent on the transcriptional regulator Blimp1, which prevents downregulation of Foxp3 expression and “toxic” gain-of-function of Treg cells in the inflamed CNS. Blimp1 negatively regulates IL-6- and STAT3-dependent Dnmt3a expression and function restraining methylation of Treg cell-specific conserved non-coding sequence 2 (CNS2) in the Foxp3 locus. Consequently, CNS2 is heavily methylated when Blimp1 is ablated, leading to a loss of Foxp3 expression and severe disease. These findings identify a Blimp1-dependent pathway that preserves Treg cell stability in inflamed non-lymphoid tissues.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-02-08 | Cell Reports |