Control of Lymphocyte Fate, Infection, and Tumor Immunity by TCF-1

• Published in: Trends in immunology 2019-12, Vol.40 (12), p.1149-1162
• Main Authors: Raghu, Dinesh, Xue, Hai-Hui, Mielke, Lisa A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomarkers; Cancer; CD8 antigen; Collaboration; Cooperation; Gene expression; Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1; Histone deacetylase; Immune checkpoint; Immunotherapy; Infections; innate lymphoid cell; Kinases; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Maintenance; Medical research; stem cell-like memory; Stem cells; T cell; T cell factor-1; TCF-1; transcription factor; Transcription factors; Viral infections
• ISSN: 1471-4906; 1471-4981
• DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2019.10.006

T cell factor-1 (TCF-1), encoded by Tcf7, is a transcription factor and histone deacetylase (HDAC) essential for commitment to both the T cell and the innate lymphoid cell (ILC) lineages in mammals. In this review, we discuss the multifunctional role of TCF-1 in establishing these lineages and the requirement for TCF-1 throughout lineage differentiation and maintenance of lineage stability. We highlight recent reports showing promise for TCF-1 as a novel biomarker to identify recently characterized subsets of exhausted CD8+ T cells that may help to predict patient responses to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). T cell factor-1 (TCF-1) acts as a transcription factor and histone deacetylase (HDAC) in both mouse and humans to shape innate and adaptive immunity.Expression of TCF-1 is necessary for the development of ILC progenitor cells in mouse bone marrow.In murine T cell development, TCF-1 is critical for ETP development, commitment to the CD4+ T cell lineage, and stabilization of CD8+ T cells by suppressing alternative fate differentiation.Increased TCF-1 expression is important for the development of central memory CD8+ T cells that provide long-term protection following acute viral infection in mice.TCF-1 is critical for the development of Tex-stem cells that replenish Tex-term cells following chronic viral infection and in response to tumor formation. The presence of Tex-stem cells can be predictive of good prognosis in various cancer types and help to mediate patient responses to ICB.