Discovery of transcription factor necessary for M-cell differentiation
contributes to the clarification of the mucosal immune system
Under the leadership of OHNO Hiroshi, Team leader, Laboratory for Epithelial Immunobiology, Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Riken; KANAYA Takashi, Researcher, Riken; KAISHOU Tsuneyasu, Professor, Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, and Ifor R. Williams, Associate professor, School of Medicine, Emory University, USA, a joint research group has discovered that transcription factor Spi-B is essential for differentiation of M cells in the intestinal mucosa which initiate immune response through the delivery of antigens in the intestinal tract.
This group focused on RANKL, a secreted protein inducing differentiation of M cells, and repeatedly administered it to wild-type mice for 3 to 4 days to examine gene expressions of M cells. As a result, M cells were found to specifically express the Spi-B transcription factor. Furthermore, absence of Spi-B in mice caused complete disappearance of M cells and a decrease in immune responses to pathogenic organisms such as Salmonella typhimurium.
If the mechanism of the intestinal immune system and M cells is clarified and antigens are delivered to M cells, the development of an oral vaccine with weakened pathogens for alleviating allergic symptoms is expected.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
To learn more about this important discovery, please read the full research report entitled " The Ets transcription factor Spi-B is essential for the differentiation of intestinal microfold cells " at this page .
Related link
