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Down‐regulation of the myeloid homeobox protein Hex is essential for normal T‐cell development
Author(s) -
Mack David L.,
Leibowitz David S.,
Cooper Scott,
Ramsey Heather,
Broxmeyer Hal E.,
Hromas Robert
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.297
H-Index - 133
eISSN - 1365-2567
pISSN - 0019-2805
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2567.2002.01523.x
Subject(s) - myeloid , haematopoiesis , microbiology and biotechnology , ectopic expression , homeobox , transgene , biology , progenitor cell , genetically modified mouse , cell culture , cancer research , stem cell , gene expression , gene , genetics
Summary The haematopoietic homeobox gene Hex (also called Prh ) is expressed in myeloid cells and B cells but not T cells. To investigate whether Hex levels might play a role in myeloid versus T‐cell development, two types of transgenic mouse lines were constructed, each with ectopic expression of Hex in T cells ( CD11a/Hex and Lck/Hex ). Both these types of transgenic mouse had the same defects in T‐cell maturation, indicating that proper T‐cell development may be dependent not just on the up‐regulation of lymphoid‐specific transcriptional regulators but also on the co‐ordinated down‐regulation of myeloid‐specific transcriptional regulators such as Hex . In addition, Hex over‐expression significantly increased myeloid progenitor cycling, which may explain its role in retrovirally induced murine leukaemia.