title: Thymic DCs derived IL-27 regulates the final maturation of CD4(+) SP thymocytes.
abstract: IL-27, as a pleiotropic cytokine, promotes the differentiation of naïve T cells to Th1, while suppressing Th2 and Th17 differentiation in the periphery. However, the role of IL-27 in the thymocyte development remains unknown. Here we showed that IL-27 was highly expressed in thymic plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) while its receptor expression was mainly detected in CD4(+) single-positive (SP) thymocytes. Deletion of the p28 subunit in DCs resulted in a reduction of the most mature Qa-2(+) subsets of CD4(+) SP T cells. This defect was rescued by intrathymic administration of exogenous IL-27. In vitro differentiation assay further demonstrated that IL-27 alone was able to drive the maturation of the newly generated 6C10(+)CD69(+)CD4(+) SP cells into Qa-2(+) cells. Collectively, this study has revealed an important role of thymic DCs-derived IL-27 in the regulation of the phenotypic maturation of CD4(+) SP thymocytes.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Immunology, Ministry of Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, 38 Xue Yuan Road, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Immunology, Ministry of Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, 38 Xue Yuan Road, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Immunology, Ministry of Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, 38 Xue Yuan Road, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiuyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Immunology, Ministry of Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, 38 Xue Yuan Road, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Immunology, Ministry of Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, 38 Xue Yuan Road, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Immunology, Ministry of Health, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, 38 Xue Yuan Road, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000378:metabolism; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D007267:Injections; D019426:Integrases / Q000378:metabolism; D050839:Interferon Regulatory Factor-7 / Q000378:metabolism; D064094:Interleukin-27 / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism*; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D018123:Receptors, Interleukin / Q000378:metabolism; D060168:Thymocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D015703:Antigens, CD; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C092573:Ifit1 protein, mouse; C087697:Ifit3 protein, mouse; D050839:Interferon Regulatory Factor-7; D064094:Interleukin-27; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C494235:Irf7 protein, mouse; D011506:Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D018123:Receptors, Interleukin; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases