title: Synergy between IL-15 and Id2 promotes the expansion of human NK progenitor cells, which can be counteracted by the E protein HEB required to drive T cell development.
abstract: The cytokine IL-15 and the inhibitor of DNA binding (Id)2, which negatively regulates the activity of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, have been shown to play key roles in NK cell development. Consistent with this, exogenous IL-15 added to human thymic progenitor cells stimulated their development into NK cells at the expense of T cells both in fetal thymic organ culture and in coculture with stromal cells expressing the Notch ligand Delta-like 1. Overexpression of Id2 in thymic progenitor cells stimulated NK cell development and blocked T cell development. This, in part, is attributed to inhibition of the transcriptional activity of the E protein HEB, which we show in this study is the only E protein that enhanced T cell development. Notably, Id2 increased a pool of lineage CD1a-CD5+ progenitor cells that in synergy with IL-15 furthered expansion and differentiation into NK cells. Taken together, our findings point to a dualistic function of Id2 in controlling T/NK cell lineage decisions; T cell development is impaired by Id2, most likely by sequestering HEB, whereas NK cell development is promoted by increasing a pool of CD1a-CD5+ NK cell progenitors, which together with IL-15 differentiate into mature NK cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Remko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schotte
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dontje
authors.forename: Maho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagasawa
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: Arjen Q
authors.initials: AQ
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.forename: Hergen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Spits
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Blom
mesh_terms: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000276:immunology; D002469:Cell Separation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051797:Inhibitor of Differentiation Protein 2 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D051797:Inhibitor of Differentiation Protein 2; D019409:Interleukin-15; C497450:ID2 protein, human; C073366:TCF12 protein, human