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. 2009 Aug 15;183(4):2303-11.
doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.0901407. Epub 2009 Jul 20.

Helios deficiency has minimal impact on T cell development and function

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Helios deficiency has minimal impact on T cell development and function

Qi Cai et al. J Immunol. .

Abstract

Helios is a member of the Ikaros family of zinc finger transcription factors. It is expressed mainly in T cells, where it associates with Ikaros-containing complexes and has been proposed to act as a rate-limiting factor for Ikaros function. Overexpression of wild-type or dominant-negative Helios isoforms profoundly alters alphabeta T cell differentiation and activation, and endogenous Helios is expressed at strikingly high levels in regulatory T cells. Helios has also been implicated as a tumor suppressor in human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias. These studies suggest a central role for Helios in T cell development and homeostasis, but whether this protein is physiologically required in T cells is unclear. We report herein that inactivation of the Helios gene by homologous recombination does not impair the differentiation and effector cell function of alphabeta and gammadelta T cells, NKT cells, and regulatory T cells. These results suggest that Helios is not essential for T cells, and that its function can be compensated for by other members of the Ikaros family.

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