In the immune system, B and T lymphocytes develop via distinct pathways from common bone marrow progenitors, and the signaling protein Notch plays a crucial role in deciding T cell fate determination. Maeda et al. now find that a proto-oncogene called LRF represses this Notch signal and in so doing induces progenitors to undergo a B cell developmental program. Thus, LRF may act as a master regulator in the cell fate decision that generates the two main arms of the adaptive immune system.
T. Maeda, T. Merghoub, R. M. Hobbs, L. Dong, M. Maeda, J. Zakrzewski, M. R. M. van den Brink, A. Zelent, H. Shigematsu, K. Akashi, J. Teruya-Feldstein, G. Cattoretti, P. P. Pandolfi, Regulation of B versus T lymphoid lineage fate decision by the proto-oncogene LRF. Science 316, 860-866 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]
I. Maillard, W. S. Pear, Keeping a tight leash on Notch. Science 316, 840-842 (2007). [Summary] [Full Text]
