Download MendeleyStructure of a Domain-Swapped FOXP3 Dimer on DNA and Its Function in Regulatory T Cells.
Bandukwala, H.S., Wu, Y., Feuerer, M., Chen, Y., Barboza, B., Ghosh, S., Stroud, J.C., Benoist, C., Mathis, D., Rao, A., Chen, L.(2011) Immunity 34: 479-491
- PubMed: 21458306
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2011.02.017
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
3QRF - PubMed Abstract:
The transcription factor FOXP3 is essential for the suppressive function of regulatory T cells that are required for maintaining self-tolerance. We have solved the crystal structure of the FOXP3 forkhead domain as a ternary complex with the DNA-binding domain of the transcription factor NFAT1 and a DNA oligonucleotide from the interleukin-2 promoter. A striking feature of this structure is that FOXP3 forms a domain-swapped dimer that bridges two molecules of DNA. Structure-guided or autoimmune disease (IPEX)-associated mutations in the domain-swap interface diminished dimer formation by the FOXP3 forkhead domain without compromising FOXP3 DNA binding. These mutations also eliminated T cell-suppressive activity conferred by FOXP3, both in vitro and in a murine model of autoimmune diabetes in vivo. We conclude that FOXP3-mediated suppressor function requires dimerization through the forkhead domain and that mutations in the dimer interface can lead to the systemic autoimmunity observed in IPEX patients.
Organizational Affiliation:
Immune Disease Institute and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
