Differential Expression of Nuclear Receptors in T Helper Cells

초록

Steroid hormones have long been known to have a profound influence on the immune system. Although the functions of the nuclear receptors in the development of T cells are fairly well studied, the differential expression of these receptors in T helper cells is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the differential expression of nuclear receptors and coregulators in Th1 and Th2 cells by genome-wide microarray analysis. The result showed that several nuclear receptors and coregulators are differentially expressed in these cells. The result was confirmed by RT-PCR. The result showed that RXR alpha is highly expressed in Th2 cells. Overexpression of RXR alpha in a Jurkat human T cell line induced IL4 but not IFN-gamma gene expression, suggesting that RXR alpha plays a selective role in Th1 and Th2 differentiation. In summary, these results suggest that Th1/Th2 differentiation is influenced by differential regulation of nuclear receptors and coregulators.

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