MINK1激酶在T细胞早期发育中的功能及作用机制研究

T细胞是机体抵抗外界病原感染的重要免疫细胞，其发育过程也一直是国际免疫学界所关注的热点之一。Mink1是利用SAGE（serial analysis of gene expression）方法，在CD4+ T细胞中筛选到的高表达基因，其编码了一个丝氨酸/苏氨酸激酶。早期研究通过RNAi技术显示MINK1参与了T细胞的阴性选择过程。本课题为了进一步研究MINK1在T细胞发育分化和活化中的作用，构建了Mink1基因缺陷小鼠，对小鼠的初步表型分析显示，MINK1缺陷小鼠T细胞早期发育阶段受阻。本项目将进一步揭示MINK1在T细胞早期发育中的功能，阐明其作用的分子机制，进一步完善我们对T细胞发育相关分子事件的认识。

T cells are important immune cells to resist external pathogens in our body, and its development is also a hot research area in recent years. Mink1 is highly expressed in CD4+ T cells as discovered by SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression) screening, which encodes a serine / threonine kinase. Early studies demonstrate that MINK1 is involved in negative selection of T cells by using the RNAi technology. In order to further study the role of MINK1 in T cell development, differentiation and activation in vivo, we generated Mink1 gene deficient mice. Preliminary analysis showed that early T cell development was blocked in MINK1 deficient mice. This project is to confirm the function of MINK1 in early T cell development, and reveal the underlining mechanism. The completion of this project will provide us new insights into the relevant molecular events in T cell development.