Epigenetics and T-cell immunity

Abstract

Epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation and histone modifications are critically involved in immune responses. Antigen stimulation along with a specific cytokine milieu drives helper T-cell differentiation into specific subsets with distinct functional capacities. This process occurs by inducing chromatin remodeling and altering transcriptional accessibility of key cytokine genes such as IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17. These epigenetic changes, by definition, are carried over throughout cell division to ensure selective survival of a cell lineage. Over the past decade, a growing body of literature mechanistically uncovered the central role for epigenetic regulation in immunity. In this review, we focus on epigenetics in T helper cell differentiation, regulatory T-cell function, and IL-2 production.

• Epigenetics
• gene regulation
• T-cell immunity
• T-cell function
• DNA methylation

Acknowledgments

This publication was made possible by NIH Grant Number P20-RR015577 from the National Center for Research Resources and by funding from the Arthritis National Research Foundation and the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.