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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

In Vitro Differentiation of Human CD4+FOXP3+ Induced Regulatory T Cells (iTregs) from Naïve CD4+ T Cells Using a TGF-β-containing Protocol
Published on: December 30, 2016
IL-4 gene transcription in human T cells is suppressed by T-bet
Noriko Kitamura1, Fujiko Kitamura, Osamu Kaminuma
1Cytokine Project, The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Unlabelled:
T-bet is crucially implicated in Th1 differentiation due to its strong promoting activity for IFN-gamma gene transcription. However, the regulatory role of T-bet in Th2 cytokines is not fully delineated.
Methods:
The effect of T-bet on mRNA expression as well as the promoter activity of IL-4 in human T cells was investigated by employing quantitative RT-PCR and fluorescence-based promoter reporter assay procedures.
Results:
IL-4 mRNA expression as well as the transcriptional activity of 5'-flanking region in the IL-4 gene encompassing -1105 to +4 in Jurkat cells was clearly upregulated upon stimulation. The inducible mRNA expression and the promoter activity of IL-4 were significantly diminished by ectopic expression of T-bet.
Conclusion:
IL-4 gene transcription is inhibited by T-bet via the suppression of its promoter activity, independently of IFN-gamma. T-bet facilitates Th1 differentiation through not only upregulation of IFN-gamma, but also downregulation of IL-4 gene transcription.
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