Distinct roles in NKT cell maturation and function for the different transcription factors in the classical NF-kappa B pathway

Abstract

The nuclear factor (NF)-κB signalling pathway is known to be critical for natural killer T (NKT) cell differentiation; however, the role of individual NF-κB transcription factors and the precise developmental stages that they control remain unclear. We have investigated the influence of the classical NF-κB transcription factors NF-κB1, c-Rel and RelA on NKT cell development and function, using gene-deleted mice. Individually, none of these factors were essential for the requirement of NF-κB signalling in early NKT cell development before NK1.1 expression, in contrast to earlier reports in which the classical NF-κB pathway was globally disrupted. Instead, we found that each factor played a no..