title: Foxn1 regulates key target genes essential for T cell development in postnatal thymic epithelial cells.
abstract: Thymic epithelial cell differentiation, growth and function depend on the expression of the transcription factor Foxn1; however, its target genes have never been physically identified. Using static and inducible genetic model systems and chromatin studies, we developed a genome-wide map of direct Foxn1 target genes for postnatal thymic epithelia and defined the Foxn1 binding motif. We determined the function of Foxn1 in these cells and found that, in addition to the transcriptional control of genes involved in the attraction and lineage commitment of T cell precursors, Foxn1 regulates the expression of genes involved in antigen processing and thymocyte selection. Thus, critical events in thymic lympho-stromal cross-talk and T cell selection are indispensably choreographed by Foxn1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Saulius
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Žuklys
authors.affiliation: MRC Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Handel
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Saule
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhanybekova
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Govani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maio
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Carlos E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hong Ying
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Teh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hafen
authors.affiliation: MRC Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gallone
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barthlott
authors.affiliation: MRC Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chris P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Ponting
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, University Children's Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.|Department of Paediatrics and the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Georg A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Holländer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000235:genetics; D002450:Cell Communication; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D060966:Clonal Selection, Antigen-Mediated / Q000235:genetics; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D054504:Precursor Cells, T-Lymphoid / Q000502:physiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; C090140:Whn protein