Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Feb;9(2):194-202.
doi: 10.1038/ni1549. Epub 2007 Dec 23.

Smad3 and NFAT cooperate to induce Foxp3 expression through its enhancer

Yukiko Tone  1 , Keiji Furuuchi, Yoshitsugu Kojima, Mark L Tykocinski, Mark I Greene, Masahide Tone
Affiliations

Smad3 and NFAT cooperate to induce Foxp3 expression through its enhancer

Yukiko Tone et al. Nat Immunol. 2008 Feb.

Abstract

The transcription factor Foxp3 is involved in the differentiation, function and survival of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (T(reg)) cells. Details of the mechanism underlying the induction of Foxp3 expression remain unknown, because studies of the transcriptional regulation of the Foxp3 gene are limited by the small number of T(reg) cells in mononuclear cell populations. Here we have generated a model system for analyzing Foxp3 induction and, by using this system with primary T cells, we have identified an enhancer element in this gene. The transcription factors Smad3 and NFAT are required for activity of this Foxp3 enhancer, and both factors are essential for histone acetylation in the enhancer region and induction of Foxp3. These biochemical properties that define Foxp3 expression explain many of the effects of transforming growth factor-beta on the function of Foxp3+ T(reg) cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • What turns on Foxp3?
    von Boehmer H, Nolting J. von Boehmer H, et al. Nat Immunol. 2008 Feb;9(2):121-2. doi: 10.1038/ni0208-121. Nat Immunol. 2008. PMID: 18204423 No abstract available.

Publication types