Ei24维持外周CD8 T细胞稳态抑制肿瘤生长的机制研究

CD8 T细胞在机体免疫防御中发挥了重要作用，既要能有效清除病源体和肿瘤细胞，也要避免被自身抗原激活导致自身免疫性疾病的发生。因此，CD8 T细胞在外周的稳态维持受到严格的调控，其调节异常会导致炎症、自身免疫病以及肿瘤的发生。目前，对于CD8 T细胞在外周稳态维持的机制仍了解较少。在前期研究中我们发现，Ei24的缺失不会影响胸腺中T细胞的发育，但显著减少了外周T细胞数目，并增加了记忆细胞的比例，尤其是CD8 T细胞变化更为明显。这些结果说明Ei24调控了CD8 T细胞的稳态维持。进一步的研究表明，Ei24促进外周CD8 T细胞的存活。本项目拟全面描绘Ei24在维持外周T细胞稳态中的作用，揭示Ei24调控外周CD8 T细胞稳态抑制肿瘤生长的分子机制。

CD8 T cells play important roles in immune defense. They need efficiently clear the pathogens and cancer cells, yet avoid be activated by self-antigens. Therefore, the homeostasis of CD8 T cells is tightly controlled, and dysregulation causes tumors, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. To date, the mechanisms underlying the homeostasis of peripheral CD8 T cells are still unclear. Our previous study showed that deletion of Ei24 in T cells did not affect the development of T cells in thymus, but significantly reduced the numbers of peripheral T cells and increased the proportion of memory T cells, particularly CD8 T cells. These results suggest that Ei24 regulates the homeostasis of peripheral CD8 T cells. Further study indicated that Ei24 regulated the survival of peripheral CD8 T cells. We will reveal the role of Ei24 in T cell homeostasis and demonstrate the mechanisms by which Ei24 regulates homeostasis of peripheral CD8 T cells to control tumor growth.