Throughout lymphopoiesis, multipotent progenitor cells gradually restrict their developmental potential to give rise to numerous cell types exhibiting specialized functions, including adaptive (T and B cells) and innate (innate lymphoid cells, ILCs) lymphocytes. Interestingly, each type of adaptive lymphocytes contains subsets with innate-like properties acquired already during their development. Upon microbial infection or during disease, these cells are activated and/or differentiate into a plethora of distinct effector cell types with long- or short-term functions. Functional diversification is driven by transcriptional programs that unfold in cells responding to developmental and environmental signals, thus bestowing upon them their unique cell identity. The stability of cell identity is ultimately linked to the epigenetic control of chromatin organization that regulates proper accessibility of transcription factors in time and space. Therefore, elegant interactions between transcription factors, chromatin modifiers and genomic regulatory elements are required to control cell lineage determination, and thus proper function of the immune system.
Innate-like T cells, including Natural Killer T (NKT) cells, Mucosal Associated Innate T (MAIT) cells, ?d T cells, and others, constitute a distinct T cell subset with innate functional properties that are acquired during their development and are maintained throughout life. Their developmental and functional requirements overlap with those of ILCs, in terms of transcription factor expression, tissue residency, and cytokine production, despite that the latter lack expression of rearranged antigen receptors. These properties are largely founded on core transcriptional and epigenetic programs that are also operational during early T cell development and during T cell activation and differentiation. In addition, rare cellular subtypes with potentially novel functions and developmental trajectories have been recently characterized through single-cell transcriptomics and genomics analyses. This Research Topic is aiming at highlighting emerging concepts regarding how transcriptional and epigenetic networks coordinate the innate/effector output of distinct lymphocyte subsets and thus determine cell fate and function.
In this Research Topic, we welcome submission of Original Research, Review, Mini-Review , Perspectives and Opinion articles on the transcriptional and epigenetic networks and chromatin organization involved in conventional T cell, innate-like T cell, and ILC development, differentiation, and function. We aim to compile articles related, but not limited, to the following themes:
1. Function of transcriptional regulators, long-noncoding RNAs, microRNAs, and chromatin modifiers during T/ILC development and activation
2. Changes in higher-order chromatin architecture during T/ILC development and activation
3. Characterization of genomic regulatory elements (i.e enhancers)
4. Shared and distinct transcriptional/epigenetic modules between T cells and ILCs
5. Signaling pathways that control transcriptional activity
6. Characterization of antigen receptor dependent and independent transcriptional circuitries
7. Heterogeneity of progenitor and mature cells
8. Lineage tracing and developmental trajectories
9. Characterization of fetal/neonatal ontogeny during development of T cells and ILCs
10. Computational approaches that help to delineate transcriptional and epigenetic networks
Throughout lymphopoiesis, multipotent progenitor cells gradually restrict their developmental potential to give rise to numerous cell types exhibiting specialized functions, including adaptive (T and B cells) and innate (innate lymphoid cells, ILCs) lymphocytes. Interestingly, each type of adaptive lymphocytes contains subsets with innate-like properties acquired already during their development. Upon microbial infection or during disease, these cells are activated and/or differentiate into a plethora of distinct effector cell types with long- or short-term functions. Functional diversification is driven by transcriptional programs that unfold in cells responding to developmental and environmental signals, thus bestowing upon them their unique cell identity. The stability of cell identity is ultimately linked to the epigenetic control of chromatin organization that regulates proper accessibility of transcription factors in time and space. Therefore, elegant interactions between transcription factors, chromatin modifiers and genomic regulatory elements are required to control cell lineage determination, and thus proper function of the immune system.
Innate-like T cells, including Natural Killer T (NKT) cells, Mucosal Associated Innate T (MAIT) cells, ?d T cells, and others, constitute a distinct T cell subset with innate functional properties that are acquired during their development and are maintained throughout life. Their developmental and functional requirements overlap with those of ILCs, in terms of transcription factor expression, tissue residency, and cytokine production, despite that the latter lack expression of rearranged antigen receptors. These properties are largely founded on core transcriptional and epigenetic programs that are also operational during early T cell development and during T cell activation and differentiation. In addition, rare cellular subtypes with potentially novel functions and developmental trajectories have been recently characterized through single-cell transcriptomics and genomics analyses. This Research Topic is aiming at highlighting emerging concepts regarding how transcriptional and epigenetic networks coordinate the innate/effector output of distinct lymphocyte subsets and thus determine cell fate and function.
In this Research Topic, we welcome submission of Original Research, Review, Mini-Review , Perspectives and Opinion articles on the transcriptional and epigenetic networks and chromatin organization involved in conventional T cell, innate-like T cell, and ILC development, differentiation, and function. We aim to compile articles related, but not limited, to the following themes:
1. Function of transcriptional regulators, long-noncoding RNAs, microRNAs, and chromatin modifiers during T/ILC development and activation
2. Changes in higher-order chromatin architecture during T/ILC development and activation
3. Characterization of genomic regulatory elements (i.e enhancers)
4. Shared and distinct transcriptional/epigenetic modules between T cells and ILCs
5. Signaling pathways that control transcriptional activity
6. Characterization of antigen receptor dependent and independent transcriptional circuitries
7. Heterogeneity of progenitor and mature cells
8. Lineage tracing and developmental trajectories
9. Characterization of fetal/neonatal ontogeny during development of T cells and ILCs
10. Computational approaches that help to delineate transcriptional and epigenetic networks
