Review
Using mouse models to study function of transcriptional factors in T cell development
1 Key Laboratory of Regenerative Biology, Guangzchou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
2 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Guangzhou, China
3 Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1HH, UK
Cell Regeneration 2012, 1:8 doi:10.1186/2045-9769-1-8
Published: 10 October 2012Abstract
Laboratory mice have widely been used as tools for basic biological research and models for studying human diseases. With the advances of genetic engineering and conditional knockout (CKO) mice, we now understand hematopoiesis is a dynamic stepwise process starting from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) which are responsible for replenishing all blood cells. Transcriptional factors play important role in hematopoiesis. In this review we compile several studies on using genetic modified mice and humanized mice to study function of transcriptional factors in lymphopoiesis, including T lymphocyte and Natural killer (NK) cell development. Finally, we focused on the key transcriptional factor Bcl11b and its function in regulating T cell specification and commitment.
