Effector Regulatory T Cell Differentiation and Immune Homeostasis Depend on the Transcription Factor Myb

Abstract

FoxP3-expressing regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for maintaining immune homeostasis. Activated Treg cells undergo further differentiation into an effector state that highly expresses genes critical for Treg cell function, although how this process is coordinated on a transcriptional level is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that mice lacking the transcription factor Myb in Treg cells succumbed to a multi-organ inflammatory disease. Myb was specifically expressed in, and required for the differentiation of, thymus-derived effector Treg cells. Thecombination of transcriptome and genomic footprint analyses revealed that Myb directly regulated a large proportion of the gene expression specific to effector Treg cells, identifying Myb as acritical component of the gene regulatory network controlling effector Treg cell differentiation and function.