The Lysine Acetyltransferase GCN5 Is Required for iNKT Cell Development through EGR2 Acetylation

Publication date: 18 July 2017
Source:Cell Reports, Volume 20, Issue 3
Author(s): Yajun Wang, Chawon Yun, Beixue Gao, Yuanming Xu, Yana Zhang, Yiming Wang, Qingfei Kong, Fang Zhao, Chyung-Ru Wang, Sharon Y.R. Dent, Jian Wang, Xiangping Xu, Hua-Bin Li, Deyu Fang
The development of CD1d-restricted invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, a population that is critical for both innate and adaptive immunity, is regulated by multiple transcription factors, but the molecular mechanisms underlying how the transcriptional activation of these factors are regulated during iNKT development remain largely unknown. We found that the histone acetyltransferase general control non-derepressible 5 (GCN5) is essential for iNKT cell development during the maturation stage. GCN5 deficiency blocked iNKT cell development in a cell-intrinsic manner. At the molecular level, GCN5 is a specific lysine acetyltransferase of early growth responsive gene 2 (EGR2), a transcription factor required for iNKT cell development. GCN5-mediated acetylation positively regulated EGR2 transcriptional activity, and both genetic and pharmacological GCN5 suppression specifically inhibited the transcription of EGR2 target genes in iNKT cells, including Runx1, promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein (PLZF), interleukin (IL)-2Rb, and T-bet. Therefore, our study revealed GCN5-mediated EGR2 acetylation as a molecular mechanism that regulates iNKT development.

Graphical abstract

Teaser

Wang et al. demonstrate that GCN5 is essential for programing iNKT cell development. Loss of GCN5 blocks iNKT cell development in a cell-intrinsic manner. GCN5 directly catalyzes the iNKT lineage-specific factor EGR2 to turn on its transcriptional activity for the expression of genes required for iNKT development.


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