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Review
. 2015:2015:849573.
doi: 10.1155/2015/849573. Epub 2015 Apr 20.

Epigenetic control of interferon-gamma expression in CD8 T cells

Patrícia S de Araújo-Souza  1 , Steffi C H Hanschke  2 , João P B Viola  2
Affiliations
Review

Epigenetic control of interferon-gamma expression in CD8 T cells

Patrícia S de Araújo-Souza et al. J Immunol Res. 2015.

Abstract

Interferon- (IFN-) γ is an essential cytokine for immunity against intracellular pathogens and cancer. IFN-γ expression by CD4 T lymphocytes is observed only after T helper (Th) 1 differentiation and there are several studies about the molecular mechanisms that control Ifng expression in these cells. However, naïve CD8 T lymphocytes do not produce large amounts of IFN-γ, but after TCR stimulation there is a progressive acquisition of IFN-γ expression during differentiation into cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and memory cells, which are capable of producing high levels of this cytokine. Differential gene expression can be regulated from the selective action of transcriptional factors and also from epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA CpG methylation or posttranslational histone modifications. Recently it has been recognized that epigenetic modification is an integral part of CD8 lymphocyte differentiation. This review will focus on the chromatin status of Ifng promoter in CD8 T cells and possible influences of epigenetic modifications in Ifng gene and conserved noncoding sequences (CNSs) in regulation of IFN-γ production by CD8 T lymphocytes.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic view of mouse interferon-γ locus (Ifng). Exons are shown as black boxes. In detail, the relative positions of the CpG sites located at the Ifng promoter are indicated. The numbers correspond to their distance relative to the transcription start site (+1) of the Ifng.
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