The role of Pbx1 in T cells

• Published in: Protein & cell Vol. 2; no. 12; pp. 946 - 949
• Main Authors: Sengupta, Mayami, Morel, Laurence
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Higher Education Press 01.12.2011
• Subjects: Animals; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Cell Differentiation; Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; Developmental Biology; DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; DNA-Binding Proteins - immunology; Genetic Loci - immunology; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Homeodomain Proteins - genetics; Homeodomain Proteins - immunology; Human Genetics; Humans; Immune Tolerance; Life Sciences; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic - genetics; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic - immunology; Lymphocyte Activation; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Perspective; Pre-B-Cell Leukemia Transcription Factor 1; Protein Science; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - genetics; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - immunology; Signal Transduction; Stem Cells; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - cytology; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - immunology; Tretinoin - metabolism; Myeloid Ecotropic Viral Integration Site; Ecotropic Viral Integration Site; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Function; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Susceptibility; Retinoic Acid Synthesis
• ISSN: 1674-800X; 1674-8018
• DOI: 10.1007/s13238-011-1136-9

Tissue and organ differentiation is tightly controlled to ensure proper development and function of the growing embryo as well as cells such as lymphocytes that differentiate throughout the adult stage. Therefore it is vital that the genes and the protein they encode that are involved in these processes function accurately. Hence, any mutation or error that occurs along the way can result in extensive damage, which is expressed in various ways in the embryo and can result in immune pathogenesis, including immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases, when lymphocyte development is altered. A number of studies have been carried out to look at the genes regulating transcription in tissue differentiation, including the transcription factors Pbx1. This gene is of particular interest to us as we have identified that it is associated with systemic lupus erythematosus susceptibility (Cuda et al., in press). This perspective summarizes the known roles of Pbx1 in tissue differentiation as well as our recent findings associating genetic variations in Pbx1 to lupus susceptibility, and we will speculate on how this gene controls the maintenance of immune tolerance in T cells.