title: Roles of IκB kinase ε in the innate immune defense and beyond.
abstract: IκB kinase ε (IKKε) is a non-canonical IκB kinase that is extensively studied in the context of innate immune response. Recently, significant progress has been made in understanding the role of IKKε in interferon (IFN) signaling. In addition to its roles in innate immunity, recent studies also demonstrate that IKKε is a key regulator of the adaptive immune response. Specifically, IKKε functions as a negative feedback kinase to curtail CD8 T cell response, implying that it can be a potential therapeutic target to boost antiviral and antitumor T cell immunity. In this review, we highlight the roles of IKKε in regulating IFN signaling and T cell immunity, and discuss a few imminent questions that remain to be answered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90033, USA. junjie.zhang@usc.edu.
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Mao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics and School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Zanxian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Pinghui
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase / Q000276:immunology* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007372:Interferons / Q000276:immunology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007372:Interferons; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase
keywords: IFN signaling; IκB kinase ε (IKKε); T cell immunity; antiviral immune response