B cells play a central role in immune system function. Deregulation of normal B cell maturation can lead to the development of autoimmune syndromes as well as B cell malignancies. Elucidation of the molecular features of normal B cell development is important for the development of new target therapies for autoimmune diseases and B cell malignancies. Employing B cell–specific conditional knockout mice, we have demonstrated here that the transcription factor leukemia/lymphoma-related factor (LRF) forms an obligate dimer in B cells and regulates mature B cell lineage fate and humoral immune responses via distinctive mechanisms. Moreover, LRF inactivation in transformed B cells attenuated their growth rate. These studies identify what we believe to be a new key factor for mature B cell development and provide a rationale for targeting LRF dimers for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and B cell malignancies.
Nagisa Sakurai, Manami Maeda, Sung-Uk Lee, Yuichi Ishikawa, Min Li, John C. Williams, Lisheng Wang, Leila Su, Mai Suzuki, Toshiki I. Saito, Shigeru Chiba, Stefano Casola, Hideo Yagita, Julie Teruya-Feldstein, Shinobu Tsuzuki, Ravi Bhatia, Takahiro Maeda
Title and authors | Publication | Year |
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The transcription factor Zbtb32 controls the proliferative burst of virus-specific natural killer cells responding to infection
AM Beaulieu, CL Zawislak, T Nakayama, JC Sun |
Nature Immunology | 2014 |
The BTB-ZF transcription factor Zbtb20 is driven by Irf4 to promote plasma cell differentiation and longevity
S Chevrier, D Emslie, W Shi, T Kratina, C Wellard, A Karnowski, E Erikci, GK Smyth, K Chowdhury, D Tarlinton, LM Corcoran |
Journal of Experimental Medicine | 2014 |