Transcription factor

About: Transcription factor is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 82881 publications have been published within this topic receiving 5400448 citations. The topic is also known as: transcription factors.

Control of T reg and T H 17 cell differentiation by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor

Abstract: Regulatory T cells (Treg) expressing the transcription factor Foxp3 control the autoreactive components of the immune system. The development of Treg cells is reciprocally related to that of pro-inflammatory T cells producing interleukin-17 (TH17). Although Treg cell dysfunction and/or TH17 cell dysregulation are thought to contribute to the development of autoimmune disorders, little is known about the physiological pathways that control the generation of these cell lineages. Here we report the identification of the ligand-activated transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) as a regulator of Treg and TH17 cell differentiation in mice. AHR activation by its ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin induced functional Treg cells that suppressed experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. On the other hand, AHR activation by 6-formylindolo[3,2-b]carbazole interfered with Treg cell development, boosted TH17 cell differentiation and increased the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice. Thus, AHR regulates both Treg and TH17 cell differentiation in a ligand-specific fashion, constituting a unique target for therapeutic immunomodulation. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a transcription factor best known for mediating the toxicity of aromatic hydrocarbons such as dioxin: its activation leads to the production of detoxification enzymes. AHR has been intensely studied in relation to toxicology and cancer research, but no mechanistic connection to the immune system was known. Now two groups report a role for AHR in maintaining the balance between two T-lymphocyte populations — the Treg and TH17 cells — that are part of the immune regulation system dealing with tolerance of self-antigens and pathogen clearance. Both groups also show that AHR affects the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalitis, a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. This work raises the possibility that stimulation of AHR by environmental factors could be involved in the development of autoimmune disease, and point to AHR as a possible drug target for immunomodulation. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is the cellular receptor for a number of environment contaminants. It is shown here to induce regulatory T cells when bound to the ligand TCCD and promote TH17 differentiation when bound to FICZ.

Function and information content of DNA methylation

Abstract: Cytosine methylation is a DNA modification generally associated with transcriptional silencing. Factors that regulate methylation have been linked to human disease, yet how they contribute to malignances remains largely unknown. Genomic maps of DNA methylation have revealed unexpected dynamics at gene regulatory regions, including active demethylation by TET proteins at binding sites for transcription factors. These observations indicate that the underlying DNA sequence largely accounts for local patterns of methylation. As a result, this mark is highly informative when studying gene regulation in normal and diseased cells, and it can potentially function as a biomarker. Although these findings challenge the view that methylation is generally instructive for gene silencing, several open questions remain, including how methylation is targeted and recognized and in what context it affects genome readout.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 stimulate the human immunodeficiency virus enhancer by activation of the nuclear factor kappa B

Abstract: Binding of peptide hormones to surface membrane receptors leads to the transcription of specific genes within relevant target cells. How these signals are transduced to alter gene expression is largely unknown, but this mechanism probably involves a sequence of enzymatic steps that activate factors in the nucleus that modulate transcription. We now demonstrate that two different peptide hormones, or cytokines, stimulate the human immunodeficiency virus enhancer, and this effect is mediated by nuclear factor (NF) kappa B (nuclear factor that binds the kappa immunoglobulin light chain gene enhancer). These cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1, act on multiple cell types and represent the only naturally occurring activators of this transcription factor among eight cytokines examined. Although NF-kappa B binding can be stimulated by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, tumor necrosis factor alpha acts through an independent mechanism, inducing NF-kappa B binding in HT-2 cells, which did not show increased binding in response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, and causing superinduction in Jurkat T-lymphoma cells. Tumor necrosis factor alpha is also a more selective activator of T cells than phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, having no effect on lymphokine production in EL-4 cells at the same time it induces NF-kappa B. These findings suggest that human immunodeficiency virus gene expression can be induced in T cells without activating lymphokine secretion and that the role of these cytokines in the activation of latent human immunodeficiency virus infection deserves further clinical evaluation. Finally, this link between binding at the surface membrane and stimulation of a specific transcription factor should help define intermediates for these cytokine activation pathways.

TERT Promoter Mutations in Familial and Sporadic Melanoma

Abstract: Cutaneous melanoma occurs in both familial and sporadic forms. We investigated a melanoma-prone family through linkage analysis and high-throughput sequencing and identified a disease-segregating germline mutation in the promoter of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene, which encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase. The mutation creates a new binding motif for Ets transcription factors and ternary complex factors (TCFs) near the transcription start and, in reporter gene assays, caused up to twofold increase in transcription. We then screened the TERT promoter in sporadic melanoma and observed recurrent ultraviolet signature somatic mutations in 125 of 168 (74%) of human cell lines derived from metastatic melanomas, 45 of 53 corresponding metastatic tumor tissues (85%), and 25 of 77 (33%) primary melanomas. The majority of those mutations occurred at two positions in the TERT promoter and also generated binding motifs for Ets/TCF transcription factors.

Transcriptional architecture of the mammalian circadian clock

Abstract: Circadian clocks are endogenous oscillators that control 24-hour physiological and behavioural processes in organisms. These cell-autonomous clocks are composed of a transcription-translation-based autoregulatory feedback loop. With the development of next-generation sequencing approaches, biochemical and genomic insights into circadian function have recently come into focus. Genome-wide analyses of the clock transcriptional feedback loop have revealed a global circadian regulation of processes such as transcription factor occupancy, RNA polymerase II recruitment and initiation, nascent transcription, and chromatin remodelling. The genomic targets of circadian clocks are pervasive and are intimately linked to the regulation of metabolism, cell growth and physiology.