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Science 11 December 1998:
Vol. 282. no. 5396, p. 1953
DOI: 10.1126/science.282.5396.1953j
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This Week in Science
When an antigen initially activates helper T cells of the immune system, the cells differentiate into either type 1 (TH1) or type 2 (TH2) cells. The specific choice is influenced by the cytokine milieu. When Dong et al. (p. 2092) constructed mice that lacked the kinase Jnk1, their T cells preferentially differentiated into TH2 cells and had enhanced proliferation. The cells could produce the cytokines that were necessary for TH1 development but could not down-regulate the production of the TH2 cytokines, such as interleukin 4 (IL-4), which skewed differentiation. T cells with no Jnk1 selectively accumulated in their nuclei the transcription factor NFATc, which is required for IL-4 transcription and TH2 differentiation. Thus, Jnk1 may normally function to regulate cell growth and to turn down TH2 differentiation signals after T cell activation.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
