Kai Ling Liang

Ghent University | UGhent · Department of Diagnostic Sciences

TRIB2, a serine/threonine pseudokinase identified as an oncogene, is expressed at high levels in the T-cell compartment of hematopoiesis. The proliferation of developing thymocytes is tightly controlled to prevent leukemic transformation of T cells. Here we examine Trib2 loss in murine hematopoiesis under steady state and proliferative stress condi...

Tribbles homolog 2 (TRIB2) is a member of the mammalian Tribbles family of serine/threonine pseudokinases (TRIB1-3). Studies of TRIB2 indicate that many of the molecular interactions between the single Drosophila Tribbles (Trbl) protein and interacting partners are evolutionary conserved. In this study, we examined the relationship between TRIB2 an...

During postnatal life, thymopoiesis depends on the continuous colonization of the thymus by bone-marrow-derived hematopoietic progenitors that migrate through the bloodstream. The current understanding of the nature of thymic immigrants is largely based on data from pre-clinical models. Here, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to ex...

The development of TCRαβ and TCRγδ T cells comprises a step-wise process in which regulatory events control differentiation and lineage outcome. To clarify these mechanisms, we employed RNA-sequencing, ATAC–sequencing and ChIPmentation on well-defined thymocyte subsets that represent the continuum of human T cell development. The chromatin accessib...

The cross-talk between thymocytes and thymic stromal cells is fundamental for T cell development. In humans, intrathymic development of dendritic cells (DCs) is evident but its physiological significance is unknown. Here we showed that DC-biased precursors depended on the expression of the transcription factor IRF8 to express the membrane-bound pre...

Not only is human T cell development characterized by unique changes in surface marker expression, but it also requires specific growth factors and conditions to mimic and study T cell development in vitro. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the specific aspects that need attention when performing T cell differentiation cultures with human...

Lineage tracing studies or other genetic approaches have allowed investigators to obtain detailed insights into the molecular mechanisms that control T cell development in the mouse. However, our understanding of how this process is regulated in human has remained unclear. Using various genome-wide approaches, such as bulk RNAseq, ATACseq, ChIPseq...

The thymus is the organ where subsets of mature T cells are generated which subsequently egress to function as central mediators in the immune system. While continuously generating T cells even into adulthood, the thymus does undergo involution during life. This is characterized by an initial rapid decrease in thymic cellularity during early life a...

During postnatal life, thymopoiesis depends on the continuous colonization of the thymus by bone marrow derived hematopoietic progenitors that migrate through the bloodstream. In human, the nature of these thymus immigrants has remained unclear. Here, we employ single-cell RNA sequencing on approximately 70.000 CD34+ thymocytes to unravel the heter...

Phosphorylation of the NF-κB transcription factor is an important regulatory mechanism for the control of transcription. Here we identify serine 80 (S80) as a phosphorylation site on the p50 subunit of NF-κB, and IKKβ as a p50 kinase. Transcriptomic analysis of cells expressing a p50 S80A mutant reveals a critical role for S80 in selectively regula...

TRIB2 is a member of the mammalian Tribbles family of serine/threonine pseudokinases (TRIB1, 2, 3). Pathologically, TRIB2 induces potent murine acute myeloid leukemia and is associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, the normal hematopoietic role of TRIB2 remains elusive. Here, we studied murine hematopoiesis after Trib2 ablation. At th...

Objective Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynaecologic cancer, and epithelial ovarian tumours are the most common malignant ovarian tumours. Pregnancy is an important factor in risk reduction and improved survival in epithelial ovarian cancers. Persistence of fetal cells after pregnancy, or fetal microchimerism, has been implicated in some...

There is growing research interest in the mammalian Trib family of serine/threonine pseudokinases and their oncogenic association with acute leukaemias. This review is to understand the role of Trib genes in haematopoietic malignancies and their potential as targets for novel therapeutic strategies in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and acute lymphob...

The outcome of treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with imatinib mesylate (IM) is inferior when therapy is commenced in late chronic or accelerated phase as compared to early chronic phase. This may be attributed to additional genomic alterations that accumulate during disease progression. We sought to identify such lesions in patients showing...

Background. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is associated with the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), t(9;22)(q34;q11), leading to the expression of the aberrant tyrosine kinase fusion protein, BCR-ABL. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib mesylate (IM), is the current standard frontline therapy for newly diagnosed CML and it has signi...