期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2004
卷号：101
期号：24
页码：8981-8986
DOI：10.1073/pnas.0402139101
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：IFN regulatory factors (IRFs) are a family of transcription factors that play an essential role in the homeostasis and function of immune systems. Recent studies indicated that IRF-8 is critical for the development of CD11blowCD8{alpha}+ conventional dendritic cells (DCs) and plasmacytoid DCs. Here we show that IRF-4 is important for CD11bhighCD8{alpha}- conventional DCs. The development of CD11bhigh DCs from bone marrow of IRF-4-/- mice was severely impaired in two culture systems supplemented with either GM-CSF or Flt3-ligand. In the IRF-4-/- spleen, the number of CD4+CD8{alpha}- DCs, a major subset of CD11bhigh DCs, was severely reduced. IRF-4 and IRF-8 were expressed in the majority of CD11bhighCD4+CD8{alpha}- DCs and CD11blowCD8{alpha}+ DCs, respectively, in a mutually exclusive manner. These results imply that IRF-4 and IRF-8 selectively play critical roles in the development of the DC subsets that express them.
