Helix-loop-helix proteins in lymphocyte lineage determination.
The cells of the lymphoid system develop from multipotent hematopoietic stem cells through a series of intermediate progenitors with progressively restricted developmental options. Commitment to a given lymphoid lineage appears to be controlled by numerous transcriptional regulatory proteins that activate lineage-specific gene expression programs and extinguish expression of lineage-inappropriate genes. In this review I discuss the function of transcription factors belonging to the helix-loop-helix protein family in the control of lymphoid cell fate decisions. A model of lymphocyte lineage determination based on the antagonistic activity of transcriptional activating and repressing helix-loop-helix proteins is presented.
Department of Pathology, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA. bkee@bsd.uchicago.edu
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D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018257:Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D038041:Lymphopoiesis; D051379:Mice; D051820:TCF Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D058125:Transcription Factor 7-Like 1 Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D051820:TCF Transcription Factors; C544912:TCF7L1 protein, human; C544913:Tcf7l1 protein, mouse; D058125:Transcription Factor 7-Like 1 Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors