TET Methylcytosine Oxidases in T Cell and B Cell Development and Function

Ageliki Tsagaratou; Chan-Wang J Lio; Xiaojing Yue; Anjana Rao

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2017.00220

TET Methylcytosine Oxidases in T Cell and B Cell Development and Function

Front Immunol. 2017 Mar 31:8:220. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00220. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Ageliki Tsagaratou¹, Chan-Wang J Lio¹, Xiaojing Yue¹, Anjana Rao^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Signaling and Gene Expression, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
² Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
³ Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA.

Abstract

DNA methylation is established by DNA methyltransferases and is a key epigenetic mark. Ten-eleven translocation (TET) proteins are enzymes that oxidize 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and further oxidization products (oxi-mCs), which indirectly promote DNA demethylation. Here, we provide an overview of the effect of TET proteins and altered DNA modification status in T and B cell development and function. We summarize current advances in our understanding of the role of TET proteins and 5hmC in T and B cells in both physiological and pathological contexts. We describe how TET proteins and 5hmC regulate DNA modification, chromatin accessibility, gene expression, and transcriptional networks and discuss potential underlying mechanisms and open questions in the field.

Keywords: 5hmC; B cells; T cells; TET proteins; cancer; chromatin accessibility; development; immune gene regulation.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding