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Review
. 2014 Apr;141(4):498-505.
doi: 10.1111/imm.12216.

Transcriptional regulation of T helper type 2 differentiation

Gap Ryol Lee  1
Affiliations
Review

Transcriptional regulation of T helper type 2 differentiation

Gap Ryol Lee. Immunology. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

Considerable progress has been made in recent years towards our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of T helper type 2 (Th2) cell differentiation. Additional transcription factors and chromatin-modifying factors were identified and shown to promote Th2 cell differentiation and inhibit differentiation into other subsets. Analyses of mice lacking several cis-regulatory elements have yielded more insight into the regulatory mechanism of Th2 cytokine genes. Gene deletion studies of several chromatin modifiers confirmed their impact on CD4 T-cell differentiation. In addition, recent genome-wide analyses of transcription factor binding and chromatin status revealed unexpected roles of these factors in Th2-cell differentiation. In this review, these recent findings and their implication are summarized.

Keywords: T helper type 2; cis-regulatory element; differentiation; epigenetics; transcription factor.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A simplified diagram of T helper type 2 (Th2) differentiation. The roles of T-cell receptor-(TCR), interleukin-4 receptor-(IL-4R) and IL-2R-induced transcriptions factors are shown with special emphasis on GATA3 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6). The thickness of the arrows indicates the relative importance of the transcription factors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cis-acting regulatory elements in the T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokine locus. Regulatory elements (coloured rectangles) are categorized based on their function, and colour-coded. Binding of transcription factors (coloured circles) to the regulatory elements is shown. Long-range chromosomal interactions between Th2 locus control region (LCR) and the promoters of Th2 cytokine genes are shown by blue lines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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