GSE135968
Transcription factor Zfp281 sustains CD4+ T lymphocyte activation by directly repressing Ctla-4 transcription
Expression of co-inhibitory receptors, such as CTLA-4, on effector T cells is a key mechanism for the negative regulation of T cell activation. However, how CTLA-4 is transcriptionally regulated is not well understood. Zfp281, a C2H2 zinc finger protein, is a negative regulator of maintaining pluripotency for embryonic stem cells. Nevertheless, its function in differentiated cells has not been studied. We generated Zfp281 conditional knockout mice in which the function of Zfp281 gene was conditionally disrupted by Cd4Cre transgene to study its impact on T cell function. Zfp281 was dispensable for T cell development, but CD4+ T cell activation and cytokine production were impaired due to diminished T cell receptor signaling. Furthermore, Zfp281 deficiency inhibited in vivo T cell responses to Listeria monocytogenes infection. Using genome-wide expression profiling assays, we determined that Zfp281 repressed Ctla-4 expression by directly binding GC-rich sites of its promoter, which inhibited the negative feedback of T cell activation. In line with this, CTLA-4 blockade and shRNA knock down can partly rescue the reduced cytokine production caused by Zfp281 deficiency. These findings identify that Zfp281 sustains CD4+ T lymphocyte activation by directly repressing Ctla-4 transcription. Overall design: CD4+ T cell RNA-SEQ