β-Catenin, TCF, and ICAT

ISBN-13: 9783838334509 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 196 str.

Mohammad Zulfiquer Hossain

Opis

In addition to working together to drive expression of target genes, β-catenin and TCF often work independently of each other. They both regulate several stages of T cell development, but their mode of action remains poorly understood. To study the specific role of β-catenin-TCF interactions in T cells, we generated transgenic mice that express ICAT, a naturally occurring inhibitor of β-catenin-TCF interactions, in the T cell lineage. We found that β-catenin-TCF interactions are important for thymocyte survival, but not for proliferation or differentiation. Interestingly, thymocyte aging slows down in ICAT-Tg mice, suggesting a role for β-catenin-TCF interactions in normal thymic involution. We also discovered that β-catenin-TCF interactions provide survival signals to activated T cells and promote differentiation of activated CD4 T cells into the default Th2 lineage. However, TCF represses Th1 differentiation independently of its interaction with β-catenin. This study, thus, provides novel insights into the role of β-catenin and TCF in T cell development, function, and aging, and should of interest to immunologists, developmental biologists, and gerontologists alike.

O autorze

Received his B.S. in Biology and Biochemistry from Brandeis University. Under the Graduate Partnerships Program, completed doctoral research at the National Institutes of Health and received his Ph.D. in Molecular Molecular Medicine from the University of Maryland. Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.