Regulation of SATB1 during thymocyte development by TCR signaling

Mol Immunol. 2016 Sep:77:34-43. doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2016.07.005. Epub 2016 Jul 25.

Abstract

T lymphocyte development and differentiation is a multi-step process that begins in the thymus and completed in the periphery. Sequential development of thymocytes is dependent on T cell receptor (TCR) signaling and an array of transcription factors. In this study we show that special AT-rich binding protein 1 (SATB1), a T lineage-enriched chromatin organizer and regulator, is induced in response to TCR signaling during early thymocyte development. SATB1 expression profile coincides with T lineage commitment and upregulation of SATB1 correlates with positive selection of thymocytes. CD4 thymocytes exhibit a characteristic bimodal expression pattern that corresponds to immature and mature CD4 thymocytes. We also demonstrate that GATA3, the key transcriptional regulator of αβ T cells positively regulates SATB1 expression in thymocytes suggesting an important role for SATB1 during T cell development.

Keywords: GATA-3; SATB1; Signaling; T cell receptor.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / cytology*
  • Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / biosynthesis*
  • Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / immunology
  • Cell Differentiation / immunology*
  • Chromatin Immunoprecipitation
  • Flow Cytometry
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor / biosynthesis
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor / immunology
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation / immunology*
  • Immunoblotting
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / immunology
  • Signal Transduction / immunology
  • Thymocytes / cytology*
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal
  • GATA3 Transcription Factor
  • Gata3 protein, mouse
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell
  • Stab1 protein, mouse