Signalling through TEC kinases regulates conventional versus innate CD8(+) T-cell development.
Recent data from three laboratories have identified the TEC kinases, ITK and RLK, as crucial regulators of CD8(+) T-cell development into the conventional lymphocyte lineage. In the absence of ITK and RLK, CD4(+)CD8(+) thymocytes upregulate the T-box transcription factor eomesodermin, and develop into mature CD8(+) T cells that resemble memory cells, exhibit immediate effector cytokine production and depend on IL-15. Furthermore, the selection of these non-conventional 'innate' T cells results from interactions with haematopoietic cells in the thymus. These findings lead to the hypothesis that altered TCR signalling, together with distinct co-stimulatory signals, is the basis for the development of non-conventional T-cell lineages.
Berg
Leslie J
LJ
Department of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA. leslie.berg@umassmed.edu
D000818:Animals; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D019070:Cell Lineage; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D018448:Models, Immunological; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000276:immunology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology*
C089848:Tec protein-tyrosine kinase; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases