title: Hobit and human effector T-cell differentiation: The beginning of a long journey.
abstract: Besides growing plants, eating a lot, and drinking beer, Tolkien's Hobbits enjoy maintaining a quiet state. Regarding the latter, the name chosen for a recently discovered transcription factor seems to be unintentionally appropriate. The zinc finger protein ZNF683 was originally named "Hobit" for Homolog of Blimp-1 in T cells. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Braga et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2015. 45: 2945-2958] demonstrate that in humans, Hobit is almost exclusively expressed in effector T cells, in particular in quiescent and long-lived effector-type CD8(+) T cells. Hobit may initially appear as another "player" in the quest for transcription factors guiding T-cell differentiation; the discoveries of T-bet, Eomes, Blimp-1, and others have significantly contributed to our understanding of how this process is tightly regulated. However, Hobit may be special--the currently available results suggest substantial differences in Hobit's regulatory functions between mice and humans, such as expression patterns and IFN-γ regulation. And it may turn out that Hobit's function in human T cells is highly adapted to lifelong, periodic challenges with varying, physiological doses of pathogens. Thus, the new study about Hobit in human T cells may be the beginning of a long journey.
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Immunology and Aging, Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Immunology and Aging, Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Frentsch
authors.affiliation: Regenerative Immunology and Aging, Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thiel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: C573415:IFNG protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: CD8+ T cell; Effector cell; Homolog of Blimp-1 in T cells; Human; T-cell differentiation; Transcription factor