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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Adenoviral Transduction of Naive CD4 T Cells to Study Treg Differentiation
Published on: August 13, 2013
Transcriptional repressor Blimp-1 is essential for T cell homeostasis and self-tolerance
Axel Kallies1, Edwin D Hawkins, Gabrielle T Belz
1The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia.
Abstract:
T cell homeostasis is crucial for a functional immune system, as the accumulation of T cells resulting from lack of regulatory T cells or an inability to shut down immune responses can lead to inflammation and autoimmune pathology. Here we show that Blimp-1, a transcriptional repressor that is a 'master regulator' of terminal B cell differentiation, was expressed in a subset of antigen-experienced CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Mice reconstituted with fetal liver stem cells expressing a mutant Blimp-1 lacking the DNA-binding domain developed a lethal multiorgan inflammatory disease caused by an accumulation of effector and memory T cells. These data identify Blimp-1 as an essential regulator of T cell homeostasis and suggest that Blimp-1 regulates both B cell and T cell differentiation.
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