Project description:Thymocyte selection-associated high mobility group box protein family member 2 (TOX2) is a transcription factor belonging to the TOX family that shares a highly conserved high mobility group DNA binding domain with the other TOX members. While TOX1 has been shown to be an essential regulator of T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell differentiation in mice, little is known about the roles of the other TOX family members in lymphocyte development, particularly in humans. In this study, we found that TOX2 was preferentially expressed in mature human NK cells and was upregulated during in vitro differentiation of NK cells from human umbilical cord blood (UCB)M-bM-^@M-^Sderived CD34+ cells. Gene silencing of TOX2 intrinsically hindered the transition between early developmental stages of NK cells, while overexpression of TOX2 enhanced the development of mature NK cells from UCB CD34+ cells. We subsequently found that TOX2 was independent of ETS-1 but could directly upregulate the transcription of TBX21 (encoding T-BET). Overexpression of T-BET rescued the TOX2 knockdown phenotypes. Given the essential function of T-BET in NK cell differentiation, TOX2 therefore plays a crucial role in controlling normal NK cell development by acting upstream of TBX21 transcriptional regulation. survey of NK cells over time
Project description:Thymocyte selection-associated high mobility group box protein family member 2 (TOX2) is a transcription factor belonging to the TOX family that shares a highly conserved high mobility group DNA binding domain with the other TOX members. While TOX1 has been shown to be an essential regulator of T-cell and natural killer (NK) cell differentiation in mice, little is known about the roles of the other TOX family members in lymphocyte development, particularly in humans. In this study, we found that TOX2 was preferentially expressed in mature human NK cells and was upregulated during in vitro differentiation of NK cells from human umbilical cord blood (UCB)–derived CD34+ cells. Gene silencing of TOX2 intrinsically hindered the transition between early developmental stages of NK cells, while overexpression of TOX2 enhanced the development of mature NK cells from UCB CD34+ cells. We subsequently found that TOX2 was independent of ETS-1 but could directly upregulate the transcription of TBX21 (encoding T-BET). Overexpression of T-BET rescued the TOX2 knockdown phenotypes. Given the essential function of T-BET in NK cell differentiation, TOX2 therefore plays a crucial role in controlling normal NK cell development by acting upstream of TBX21 transcriptional regulation.
Project description:RNA-Seq was performed in human natural killer/T Cell Lymphoma cell line NKYS ells treated with TOX2-shRNA1, -shRNA2 or with scrambel shRNA. Total RNA was extracted using RNeasy mini kit (Qiagen). The decreased TOX2 expression was confirmed by RT-PCR. The RNA library construction and RNA-sequencing services were provided by Novogene Singapore.
Project description:T-BET and EOMES are key transcription factors in the development of mature Natural Killer (NK) cells in mice. However, the role of these transcription factors during human NK cell development is less well understood. Therefore, we overexpressed T-BET or EOMES in human umbilical cord blood-derived HPC and cultured them in vitro in an NK cell differentiation model. To evaluate the effect of early overexpression of T-BET and EOMES in HPC, transcriptome profiling was performed on T-BET and EOMES overexpressing HPC and compared to control transduced HPC by RNA sequencing on day 0 of culture.
Project description:T-BET and EOMES are key transcription factors in the development of mature Natural Killer (NK) cells in mice. However, the role of these transcription factors during human NK cell development is less well understood. Therefore, we overexpressed T-BET or EOMES in human umbilical cord blood-derived HPC and cultured them in vitro in an NK cell differentiation model. To evaluate the effect of early overexpression of T-BET and EOMES in HPC, the chromatin landscape was uncovered using assay for transposase-accessible chromatin (ATAC) sequencing. In this way, the regulatory effect of T-BET and EOMES overexpression on the epigenome of HPC was evaluated.
Project description:Identification of the mechanisms through which BET inhibitor (OTX-015) stimulates natural killer (NK) activation. RNA-seq was performed comparing vehicle- (DMSO) to OTX-015-treated NK-92 cell line.
Project description:Natural killer cells are innate lymphocytes that play a pivotal role in the immune surveillance and elimination of transformed or virally infected cells. Using a combined chemico-genetic approach, we have identified that BET bromodomains BRD2 and BRD4 are central regulators of NK cell responses. We show that both BRD2 and BRD4 play a key regulatory function in controlling NK cell specific inflammatory responses. However, knockdown of BRD2 but not BRD4 impairs NK cell cytolytic response, highlighting a redundant role for BRD4 in regulating NK cell killing. We further show that the prototypic monovalent BET inhibitor impairs in vitro NK cell mediated killing of cancer target cells, while the bivalent BET bromodomain AZD5153 does not. We ascribe these differences to the preferential affinity of JQ1(+) to BRD2, while AZD5153 has a higher affinity for BRD4. Our work suggests that inhibiting BET bromodomains may be an effective therapeutic strategy for controlling inflammatory function. Given that BRD2 but not BRD4 inhibition can impair NK cell mediated killing, our findings also have clinical significance in light of the ongoing clinical application of BET bromodomains in oncology.
Project description:T Follicular helper (Tfh) cell is an effector CD4+ T cell subset specialized in helping B cells in germinal centers (GC) reactions. Although Bcl6 was identified as a Tfh-specific transcription factor essential for their development, the molecular mechanisms underlying Bcl6 regulation and Tfh cell commitment remain unclear. Here, we report that Tox2 transcription factor is highly expressed in Tfh cells, regulated by Bcl6 and STAT3. Forced expression of Tox2 drives Bcl6 expression and Tfh development. Mechanistically, Tox2 directly binds to Tfh-associated genes, including Bcl6, and functions to promote their chromatin accessibility and modulate the activities of other Tfh-regulating factors. Conversely, genetic deletion of Tox2 results in defective Tfh differentiation, and inhibiting both Tox and Tox2 in T cells abolishes Tfh differentiation and GC response. Thus, our results demonstrate that Tox2 is a key transcription factor that regulates Bcl6 expression and Tfh development and suggest a Tox2-Bcl6 axis in feed-forward regulation of Tfh program.