title: Transcriptional regulation of the mucosal immune system mediated by T-bet.
abstract: The immune system faces the arduous task of defending the mucosal surfaces from invading pathogens, but must simultaneously repress responses against commensal organisms and other inert antigens that are abundant in the external environment, as inappropriate immune activation might expose the host to increased risk of autoimmunity. The behavior of individual immune cells is governed by the expression of transcription factors that are responsible for switching immune response genes on and off. T-bet (T-box expressed in T cells) has emerged as one of the key transcription factors responsible for controlling the fate of both innate and adaptive immune cells, and its expression in different immune cells found at mucosal surfaces is capable of dictating the critical balance between permitting robust host immunity and limiting susceptibility to autoimmunity and allergy.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, Guy's Hospital, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Canavan
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lord
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D056747:Immunomodulation; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D058408:Th1-Th2 Balance; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor
chemical_list: D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D000098815:T-bet Transcription Factor