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Critical roles for transcription factor GATA-3 in thymocyte development
Sung-Yun Pai1, Morgan L Truitt, Chao-Nan Ting
1Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
The transcription factor GATA-3 is expressed at every stage of thymic development, but its role in thymocyte differentiation is unknown. The fact that RAG chimeric animals lacking GATA-3 cannot generate early thymocytes from common lymphoid progenitors has thus far precluded investigation of the function of GATA-3 in the thymus. To address this, we generated mice deficient in GATA-3 at early and late stages of thymic differentiation. Our studies revealed that GATA-3 is involved in beta selection and is indispensable for single-positive CD4 thymocyte development. Thus, our data demonstrate that the coordinated and regulated expression of GATA-3 at each stage of thymic development is critical for the generation of mature T cells.