Cutting edge: Lymphoproliferation caused by Fas deficiency is dependent on the transcription factor eomesodermin

I Kinjyo, SM Gordon, AM Intlekofer… - The Journal of …, 2010 - journals.aai.org
I Kinjyo, SM Gordon, AM Intlekofer, K Dowdell, EC Mooney, R Caricchio, SA Grupp
The Journal of Immunology, 2010journals.aai.org
A hallmark of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS), caused by mutation of the
Fas death receptor, is massive lymphadenopathy from aberrant expansion of CD4−
CD8−(double-negative [DN]) T cells. Eomesodermin (Eomes) is a member of the T-box
family of transcription factors and plays critical roles in effector cell function and memory cell
fitness of CD8+ T lymphocytes. We provide evidence in this study that DN T cells exhibit
dysregulated expression of Eomes in humans and mice with ALPS. We also find that T cell …
Abstract
A hallmark of autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS), caused by mutation of the Fas death receptor, is massive lymphadenopathy from aberrant expansion of CD4− CD8−(double-negative [DN]) T cells. Eomesodermin (Eomes) is a member of the T-box family of transcription factors and plays critical roles in effector cell function and memory cell fitness of CD8+ T lymphocytes. We provide evidence in this study that DN T cells exhibit dysregulated expression of Eomes in humans and mice with ALPS. We also find that T cell-specific deletion of Eomes prevents lymphoid hypertrophy and accumulation of DN T cells in Fas-mutant mice. Although Eomes has critical physiological roles in the function and homeostasis of CD8+ T cells, overexpression of Eomes appears to enable pathological induction or expansion of unusual CD8-related T cell subsets. Thus, antagonism of Eomes emerges as a therapeutic target for DN T cell ablation in ALPS.
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