Enforced expression of Runx2 perturbs T cell development at a stage coincident with β-selection

Abstract

The development of T cells in the thymus is regulated by a series of stage-specific transcription factors. Deregulated expression of these factors can lead to alterations in thymocyte development with the production of aberrant cell subsets and predispose to tumor formation. The three genes of the Runx family are multilineage regulators of differentiation that have been reported to be expressed in the T cell lineage. However, their roles in thymocyte development and T cell function are largely unknown. While the Runx2/Cbfa1/AML3/Pebp2αa gene plays a primary role in osteogenesis and regulates a number of key bone regulatory genes, we show here that Runx2 is also expressed during the earliest ..