@phdthesis{Koenig2022,
  author    = {K{\"o}nig, Anika},
  title     = {The role of the transcriptional regulators NFATc1 and Blimp-1 in follicular T-cells},
  doi       = {10.25972/OPUS-20972},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-209727},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {The defense against invading pathogens is, amongst other things, mediated via the action of antibodies. Class-switched antibodies and antibodies of high affinity are produced by plasma cells descending from germinal center B (GCB) cells. GCB cells develop in the germinal center (GC), a specialized microstructure found in the B-cell follicle of secondary lymphoid organs. GCB-cell maturation and proliferation are supported by follicular T- helper (Tfh) cells. On the other hand, follicular regulatory T (Tfr) cells control this process in quantity and quality preventing, for instance, the formation of autoantibodies directed against endogenous structures. The development of GCB, Tfh and Tfr cells essentially depends on the migration into the GC, which is mediated via the expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR5. One transcription factor highly expressed in follicular T cells, comprising Tfh and Tfr cells, is NFATc1. Tfr cells additionally express the transcriptional repressor Blimp-1, which is not expressed in Tfh cells. We found that NFATc1 is transactivating Cxcr5 via response elements in the promoter and enhancer in vitro. Blimp-1 binds to the same elements, transactivating Cxcr5 expression in cooperation with NFATc1, whilst mediating Cxcr5- repression on its own. In Tfr cells Blimp-1 suppresses CXCR5 expression in the absence of NFATc1. Blimp-1 itself is necessary to restrict Tfr-cell frequencies and to mediate Tfr- cell function as in mice with Blimp-1-ablated Tregs high frequencies of Tfr cells do not reduce GCB- or Tfh cell frequencies. NFATc1 and Blimp-1 double deficient Tfr cells show additional loss of function, which becomes visible in clearly expanded antibody titers. To evaluate the function of NFATc1 in Tfr cells, we not only deleted it, but also overexpressed a constitutive active form of NFATc1/aA (caNFATc1/aA) in regulatory T cells (Tregs). The latter is leading to an upregulation of CXCR5 per cell, without changing Tfh or Tfr-cell frequencies. However, the high density of surface CXCR5 enhances the migration of Tfr cells deep into the GC, which results in a tighter control of the antigen- specific humoral immune response. Additionally, caNFATc1/aA increases the expression of genes coding for Tfr effector molecules like Il1rn, Il10, Tigit and Ctla4. Interestingly, this part of the transcriptional change is dependent on the presence of Blimp-1. Furthermore, Blimp-1 regulates the expression of multiple chemokine receptor genes on the background of caNFATc1/aA. In contrast, when caNFATc1/aA is overexpressed in all T cells, the frequencies of Tfh- and GCB cells are dominantly reduced. This effect seems to stem from the conventional T- cell (Tcon) side, most probably originating from increased secretion of interleukin-2 (IL- 2) via the caNFATc1/aA overexpressing Tcons. IL-2 is known to hinder the germinal center reaction (GCR) and it might in its abundance not be neutralizable by Tfr cells. Taken together, NFATc1 and Blimp-1 cooperate to control the migration of Tfr cells into the GC. Tfr cells in the GC depend on NFATc1 and Blimp-1 to perform their proper function. Overexpression of caNFATc1 in Tregs strengthens Tfr function in a Blimp-1-dependent manner, whilst overexpression of caNFATc1 in all T cells dominantly diminishes the GCR.},
  subject      = {Signaltransduktion},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MuhammadRudolfPhametal.2018,
  author    = {Muhammad, Khalid and Rudolf, Ronald and Pham, Duong Anh Thuy and Klein-Hessling, Stefan and Takata, Katsuyoshi and Matsushita, Nobuko and Ellenrieder, Volker and Kondo, Eisaku and  Serfling, Edgar},
  title     = {Induction of Short NFATc1/αA Isoform Interferes with Peripheral B Cell Differentiation},
  series = {Frontiers in Immunology},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Immunology},
  number    = {32},
  issn      = {1664-3224},
  doi       = {10.3389/fimmu.2018.00032},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197501},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {In lymphocytes, immune receptor signals induce the rapid nuclear translocation of preformed cytosolic NFAT proteins. Along with co-stimulatory signals, persistent immune receptor signals lead to high levels of NFATc1/αA, a short NFATc1 isoform, in effector lymphocytes. Whereas NFATc1 is not expressed in plasma cells, in germinal centers numerous centrocytic B cells express nuclear NFATc1/αA. When overexpressed in chicken DT40 B cells or murine WEHI 231 B cells, NFATc1/αA suppressed their cell death induced by B cell receptor signals and affected the expression of genes controlling the germinal center reaction and plasma cell formation. Among those is the Prdm1 gene encoding Blimp-1, a key factor of plasma cell formation. By binding to a regulatory DNA element within exon 1 of the Prdm1 gene, NFATc1/αA suppresses Blimp-1 expression. Since expression of a constitutive active version of NFATc1/αA interfered with Prdm1 RNA expression, LPS-mediated differentiation of splenic B cells to plasmablasts in vitro and reduced immunoglobulin production in vivo, one may conclude that NFATc1/αA plays an important role in controlling plasmablast/plasma cell formation.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{RodriguesPopovKayeetal.2013,
  author    = {Rodrigues, L{\´e}nia and Popov, Nikita and Kaye, Kenneth M. and Simas, J. Pedro},
  title     = {Stabilization of Myc through Heterotypic Poly-Ubiquitination by mLANA Is Critical for \(\gamma\)-Herpesvirus Lymphoproliferation},
  series = {PLoS PATHOGENS},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLoS PATHOGENS},
  number    = {8},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1003554},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131227},
  pages     = {e1003554},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Host colonization by lymphotropic \(\gamma\)-herpesviruses depends critically on expansion of viral genomes in germinal center (GC) B-cells. Myc is essential for the formation and maintenance of GCs. Yet, the role of Myc in the pathogenesis of \(\gamma\)-cherpesviruses is still largely unknown. In this study, Myc was shown to be essential for the lymphotropic \(\gamma\)-herpesvirus MuHV- 4 biology as infected cells exhibited increased expression of Myc signature genes and the virus was unable to expand in Myc defficient GC B- cells. We describe a novel strategy of a viral protein activating Myc through increased protein stability resulting in increased progression through the cell cycle. This is acomplished by modulating a physiological posttranslational regulatory pathway of Myc. The molecular mechanism involves Myc heterotypic poly- ubiquitination mediated via the viral E3 ubiquitin- ligase mLANA protein. \(EC_5S^{mLANA}\) modulates cellular control of Myc turnover by antagonizing \(SCF^{Fbw7}\) mediated proteasomal degradation of Myc, mimicking \(SCF^{\beta-TrCP}\). The findings here reported reveal that modulation of Myc is essential for \(\gamma\)-herpesvirus persistent infection, establishing a link between virus induced lymphoproliferation and disease.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{StaussBrunnerBerberichSiebeltetal.2016,
  author    = {Stauss, Dennis and Brunner, Cornelia and Berberich-Siebelt, Friederike and H{\"o}pken, Uta E. and Lipp, Martin and M{\"u}ller, Gerd},
  title     = {The transcriptional coactivator Bob1 promotes the development of follicular T helper cells via Bcl6},
  series = {Embo Journal},
  volume    = {35},
  journal   = {Embo Journal},
  number    = {8},
  doi       = {10.15252/embj.201591459},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-189506},
  pages     = {881-898},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Follicular T helper (Tfh) cells are key regulators of the germinal center reaction and long-term humoral immunity. Tfh cell differentiation requires the sustained expression of the transcriptional repressor Bcl6; however, its regulation in CD4\(^+\) T cells is incompletely understood. Here, we report that the transcriptional coactivator Bob1, encoded by the Pou2af1 gene, promotes Bcl6 expression and Tfh cell development. We found that Bob1 together with the octamer transcription factors Oct1/Oct2 can directly bind to and transactivate the Bcl6 and Btla promoters. Mixed bone marrow chimeras revealed that Bob1 is required for the expression of normal levels of Bcl6 and BTLA, thereby controlling the pool size and composition of the Tfh compartment in a T cell-intrinsic manner. Our data indicate that T cell-expressed Bob1 is directly involved in Tfh cell differentiation and required for mounting normal T cell-dependent B-cell responses.},
  language  = {en}
}