Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Flicr, a long noncoding RNA, modulates Foxp3 expression and autoimmunity.

David Zemmour1, Alvin Pratama1, Scott M Loughhead1

  • 1Division of Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|April 12, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Inflammatory genital strain of Chlamydia trachomatis elicits a Th17 immune response.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)·2026
Same author

Type I interferon primes the alveolar epithelium to receive reparative signals from tissue-resident macrophages.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Author Correction: Piezo1-dependent activation of stromal cells ignites muscle inflammation in exercise and injury and is associated with inflammaging.

Nature immunology·2026
Same author

Piezo1-dependent activation of stromal cells ignites muscle inflammation in exercise and injury and is associated with inflammaging.

Nature immunology·2026
Same author

Regulatory T cells safeguard liver health during metabolic-associated steatohepatitis.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

The CD8 immgenT framework as a universal reference of mouse CD8αβ T cell differentiation states.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

A novel long noncoding RNA, Flicr, fine-tunes FoxP3 expression in regulatory T cells (Tregs). This regulation impacts Treg function, influencing autoimmune disease and antiviral immunity.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are crucial for immune homeostasis, with FoxP3 expression being a key determinant of their function.
  • Gene expression in Tregs is tightly regulated by transcription factors, enhancers, and epigenetic modifications.
  • Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as important regulators of cellular processes, including immune cell function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the lncRNA Flicr in regulating FoxP3 expression in Tregs.
  • To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which Flicr influences Treg activity.
  • To determine the physiological consequences of Flicr-mediated regulation in autoimmune and infectious disease models.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of Flicr expression in mature Tregs.
Keywords:
Foxp3autoimmunitygene regulationlong noncoding RNAregulatory T cells

Related Experiment Videos

  • Investigation of Flicr's genomic location relative to FoxP3.
  • Assessment of Flicr's impact on chromatin accessibility at the FoxP3 locus.
  • Evaluation of Flicr's effects on Treg function in vitro and in vivo.
  • Studies in conditions of IL-2 deficiency and IL-2 treatment.

    • Main Results:

    • Flicr acts as a negative regulator of FoxP3 expression, leading to reduced FoxP3 protein levels in a subset of Tregs.
    • Flicr functions in cis, specifically modulating chromatin accessibility at the CNS3/AR5 region of the FoxP3 locus without affecting DNA methylation.
    • Flicr expression is inversely regulated by IL-2, with IL-2 deficiency enhancing Flicr levels.
    • Curtailment of Treg activity by Flicr promotes autoimmune diabetes and restrains antiviral responses.

    Conclusions:

    • Flicr represents a novel layer of epigenetic control over FoxP3 expression in Tregs.
    • This Flicr-FoxP3 regulatory axis plays a significant role in balancing immune tolerance and immune responses.
    • The Flicr mechanism may allow for Treg-mediated immune evasion during infection or cancer, albeit with an increased risk of autoimmunity.