Blimp-1 connects the intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of T cell homeostasis

Abstract

The body tends to maintain a relatively constant number of peripheral T cells, a phenomenon termed T cell homeostasis. Homeostasis is controlled by the coordinated activity of extrinsic regulation, most notably through cytokines of the common gamma chain (cγC) family and intrinsic regulation by transcription factors. Whereas the former mechanism has been extensively studied and is relatively well characterized, the transcription factors that govern the homeostasis of late-stage effector and memory T cells have been less well defined but include regulators such as T-bet, Eomes, Bcl6, and Id2. The transcriptional repressor, Blimp-1 is well known as a master regulator of the terminal differenti..