The transcription factor Gli3 regulates differentiation of fetal CD4- CD8- double-negative thymocytes.

The transcription factor Gli3 regulates differentiation of fetal CD4-CD8- Double Negative thymocytes Running title: Gli3 in fetal thymocyte differentiation

Gli3 in fetal thymic epithelial cells promotes thymocyte positive selection and differentiation by repression of Shh

Gli3 is a Hedgehog (Hh)-responsive transcription factor that can function as a transcriptional repressor or activator. We show that Gli3 activity in mouse thymic epithelial cells (TECs) promotes positive selection and differentiation from CD4+ CD8+ to CD4+ CD8- single-positive (SP4) cells in the fetal thymus and that Gli3 represses Shh Constitutive deletion of Gli3, and conditional deletion of ...

The role of the Runx transcription factors in thymocyte differentiation and in homeostasis of naive T cells

Members of the Runx family of transcriptional regulators are required for the appropriate expression of CD4 and CD8 at discrete stages of T cell development. The roles of these factors in other aspects of T cell development are unknown. We used a strategy to conditionally inactivate the genes encoding Runx1 or Runx3 at different stages of thymocyte development, demonstrating that Runx1 regulate...

Direct BMP2/4 signaling through BMP receptor IA regulates fetal thymocyte progenitor homeostasis and differentiation to CD4+CD8+ double-positive cell

BMP2/4 signaling is required for embryogenesis and involved in thymus morphogenesis and T-lineage differentiation. In vitro experiments have shown that treatment of thymus explants with exogenous BMP4 negatively regulated differentiation of early thymocyte progenitors and the transition from CD4-CD8- (DN) to CD4+CD8+ (DP). Here we show that in vivo BMP2/4 signaling is required for fetal thymocy...

Epidermal Growth Factor Modulates Fetal Thymocyte Growth and Differentiation

In the present study, we used the fetal organ culture (FTOC) technique in order to study a putative effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on the thymus ontogeny. Functional EGF receptors and more recently the EGF molecule itself, respectively, on the membrane of epithelial components of thymic stroma and on a few thymocytes in adult thymus, had been reported in the literature. We could observ...