%0 Journal Article
%T The transcription factor c-Maf is essential for the commitment of IL-17-producing ¦Ã¦Ä T cells
%J -
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-018-0274-0
%X ¦Ã¦Ä T cells that produce the cytokine IL-17 (T¦Ã¦Ä17 cells) are innate-like mediators of immunity that undergo effector programming in the thymus. While regulators of T¦Ã¦Ä17 specialization restricted to various V¦Ã subsets are known, a commitment factor essential to all T¦Ã¦Ä17 cells has remained undefined. In this study, we identified the transcription factor c-Maf as a universal regulator of T¦Ã¦Ä17 cell differentiation and maintenance. Maf deficiency caused an absolute lineage block at the immature CD24+CD45RBlo ¦Ã¦Ä thymocyte stage, which revealed a critical checkpoint in the acquisition of effector functions. Here, c-Maf enforced T¦Ã¦Ä17 cell identity by promoting chromatin accessibility and expression of key type 17 program genes, notably Rorc and Blk, while antagonizing the transcription factor TCF1, which promotes interferon-¦Ã-producing ¦Ã¦Ä T cells (T¦Ã¦Ä1 cells). Furthermore, ¦Ã¦Ä T cell antigen receptor (¦Ã¦ÄTCR) signal strength tuned c-Maf expression, which indicates that c-Maf is a core node that connects ¦Ã¦ÄTCR signals to T¦Ã¦Ä17 cell transcriptional programming
%U https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-018-0274-0