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Regulation of T cell differentiation and function by epigenetic modification enzymes

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Abstract

Peripheral naive CD4+ and CD8+ cells are developed in the thymus and proliferate and differentiate into various specialized T cell subsets upon activation by peptide-major histocompatibility complexes in periphery to execute different functions during immune responses. Cytokines, transcription factors, and a large number of intracellular molecules have been shown to affect T cell development, activation, and function. In addition, epigenetic modifications, such as histone modification and DNA methylation, regulate T cell biology. The epigenetic modifications are regulated by a range of DNA methyltransferases, DNA demethylation enzymes, and histone modification enzymes. Dysregulations of epigenetic modifications are closely associated with autoimmune diseases and tumorigenesis. Here, we review the current literature about the functions of DNA and histone modification enzymes in T cell development, activation, differentiation, and function.

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Acknowledgments

The authors apologize to colleagues for works that were uncited due to space constrains. This work was supported by grants from the National Scientific Foundation of China to X.P.Y (81671539, 31470851, and 31870892) and to H.B.L (81725004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China

    Huicheng Liu, Pingfei Li, Zhengping Wei, Cai Zhang, Minghui Xia, Qiuyang Du, Yufei Chen, Na Liu & Xiang-Ping Yang

  2. Department of Immunology, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, 442000, China

    Pingfei Li

  3. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Center for Allergic and Inflammatory Diseases, Affiliated Eye and ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, China

    Huabin Li

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  1. Huicheng Liu
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This article is a contribution to the special issue on The Pathogenicity of Acquired Immunity in Human Diseases - Guest Editor: Kiyoshi Hirahara

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Liu, H., Li, P., Wei, Z. et al. Regulation of T cell differentiation and function by epigenetic modification enzymes. Semin Immunopathol 41, 315–326 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00281-019-00731-w

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