A transcription factor for making plasmacytoid dendritic cells

jerry submitted, created time 2 months 3 weeks (www.cell.com)

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs) represent a unique immune cell type specialized in type I interferon (IFN) secretion in response to viral nucleic acids. The molecular control of PDC lineage specification has been poorly understood. We report that basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor (E protein) E2-2/Tcf4 is preferentially expressed in murine and human PDCs. Constitutive or inducible deletion of murine E2-2 blocked the development of PDCs but not of other lineages and abolished IFN response to unmethylated DNA

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