Display Settings:   Send to:  Choose Destination Autoimmunity.
2009;42(8):653-60. doi: 10.3109/08916930903120941.  Regulation
of Th-POK and Runx3 in T cell development in human thymoma.
Author information    Thymoma is a thymic epithelial neoplasm
which induces T cell development. However, the frequency of
mature CD4(+) T cells in thymomas is lower than in normal thymi.
Recently, CD4/CD8 lineage commitment has been elucidated in
animal model. The zinc finger transcription factor Th-POK is a
critical factor to CD4(+) T cell development in CD4/CD8 lineage
commitment, whereas CD8(+) T cell development requires the
transcription factor Runx3. These factors antagonize in CD4/CD8
lineage commitment. In this study, we examined Th-POK and Runx3
mRNA expression in the T cell subsets of human normal thymus and
thymoma. A quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain
reaction examination revealed that Th-POK expression in normal
thymi was higher in the CD4(+)CD8(-) subset than in the
CD4(+)CD8(+) and CD4(-)CD8(+)