TRIM28 mediates chromatin modifications at the TCRα enhancer and regulates the development of T and natural killer T cells

Abstract

T-cell receptor-α (TCRα) rearrangement in CD4(+)CD8(+) double-positive immature thymocytes is a prerequisite for production of αβ T cells and invariant natural killer T cells. This developmental event is regulated by the TCRα enhancer (Eα), which induces chromatin modification and recruitment of the recombination-activating proteins Rag1 and Rag2. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the activation and long-range action of Eα remains incompletely understood. We show here that the chromatin-modifying factor TRIM28 is highly expressed in double-positive thymocytes and persistently phosphorylated at serine 473. TRIM28 binds to Eα and induces histone 3 lysine 4 trimethylation in the Eα and distant regions of the TCRα locus, coupled with recruitment of Rag proteins. T-cell-conditional ablation of TRIM28 impaired TCRα gene rearrangement and compromised the development of αβ T cells and invariant natural killer T cells. These findings establish TRIM28 as a unique regulator of thymocyte development and highlight an epigenetic mechanism involving TRIM28-mediated active chromatin modification in the TCRα locus.