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Hoffmann, R. A wiki for the life sciences where authorship matters. Nature Genetics (2008)
 
 
 

Inhibition of T cell and promotion of natural killer cell development by the dominant negative helix loop helix factor Id3.

Bipotential T/natural killer (NK) progenitor cells are present in the human thymus. Despite their bipotential capacity, these progenitors develop predominantly to T cells in the thymus. The mechanisms controlling this developmental choice are unknown. Here we present evidence that a member(s) of the family of basic helix loop helix (bHLH) transcription factors determines lineage specification of NK/T cell progenitors. The natural dominant negative HLH factor Id3, which blocks transcriptional activity of a number of known bHLH factors, was expressed in CD34+ progenitor cells by retrovirus-mediated gene transfer. Constitutive expression of Id3 completely blocks development of CD34+ cells into T cells in a fetal thymic organ culture (FTOC). In contrast, development into NK cells in an FTOC is enhanced. Thus, the activity of a bHLH transcription factor is necessary for T lineage differentiation of bipotential precursors, in the absence of which a default pathway leading to NK cell development is chosen. Our results identify a molecular switch for lineage specification in early lymphoid precursors of humans.[1]

References

  1. Inhibition of T cell and promotion of natural killer cell development by the dominant negative helix loop helix factor Id3. Heemskerk, M.H., Blom, B., Nolan, G., Stegmann, A.P., Bakker, A.Q., Weijer, K., Res, P.C., Spits, H. J. Exp. Med. (1997) [Pubmed]
 
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