Article

Defective T cell development and function in the absence of Abelson kinases.

Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
The Journal of Immunology (impact factor: 5.79). 01/2008; 179(11):7334-43.
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Thymocyte proliferation, survival, and differentiation are tightly controlled by signaling from the pre-TCR. In this study, we show for the first time that the Abelson (Abl) kinases regulate proximal signaling downstream of the pre-TCR. Conditional deletion of Abl kinases in thymocytes reveals a cell-autonomous role for these proteins in T cell development. The conditional knockout mice have reduced numbers of thymocytes, exhibit an increase in the percentage of the CD4(-)CD8(-) double-negative population, and are partially blocked in the transition to the CD4(+)CD8(+) double-positive stage. Moreover, the total number of T cells is greatly reduced in the Abl mutant mice, and the null T cells exhibit impaired TCR-induced signaling, proliferation, and cytokine production. Notably, Abl mutant mice are compromised in their ability to produce IFN-positive CD8 T cells and exhibit impaired CD8(+) T cell expansion in vivo upon Listeria monocytogenes infection. Furthermore, Ab production in response to T cell-dependent Ag is severely impaired in the Abl mutant mice. Together these findings reveal cell-autonomous roles for the Abl family kinases in both T cell development and mature T cell function, and show that loss of these kinases specifically in T cells results in compromised immunity.

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Keywords

Ab production
 
Abelson
 
Abl
 
Abl family kinases
 
Abl kinases
 
Abl mutant mice
 
cell-autonomous role
 
cell-autonomous roles
 
Conditional deletion
 
conditional knockout mice
 
cytokine production
 
exhibit
 
kinases
 
Listeria monocytogenes infection
 
null T cells exhibit
 
pre-TCR
 
T cell development
 
TCR-induced signaling
 
Thymocyte proliferation
 
thymocytes
 

Jing Jin Gu