Putative GTPase GIMAP1 is critical for the development of mature B and T lymphocytes.
The guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) of the immunity-associated protein (GIMAP) family of putative GTPases has been implicated in the regulation of T-lymphocyte development and survival. A mouse conditional knockout allele was generated for the immune GTPase gene GIMAP1. Homozygous loss of this allele under the influence of the lymphoid-expressed hCD2-iCre recombinase transgene led to severe (> 85%) deficiency of mature T lymphocytes and, unexpectedly, of mature B lymphocytes. By contrast there was little effect of GIMAP1 deletion on immature lymphocytes in either B or T lineages, although in vitro studies showed a shortening of the survival time of both immature and mature CD4(+) single-positive thymocytes. These findings show a vital requirement for GIMAP1 in mature lymphocyte development/survival and draw attention to the nonredundant roles of members of the GIMAP GTPase family in these processes.
Saunders
Amy
A
Immunology Programme, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK.
Webb
Louise M C
LM
Janas
Michelle L
ML
Hutchings
Amanda
A
Pascall
John
J
Carter
Christine
C
Pugh
Nicholas
N
Morgan
Geoff
G
Turner
Martin
M
Butcher
Geoffrey W
GW
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D002469:Cell Separation; D002470:Cell Survival; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*
D020558:GTP Phosphohydrolases