<p>Within the field of immunology, the existence of autoimmune diseases presents a unique set of challenges. The immune system typically protects the host by identifying foreign pathogens and mounting an appropriate response to eliminate them. Great strides have been made in understanding how foreign pathogens are identified and responded to, leading to the development of powerful immunological tools, such as vaccines and a myriad of models used to study infectious diseases and processes. However, it is occasionally possible for host tissues themselves to be inappropriately identified as foreign, prompting an immune response that attempts to eliminate the host tissue. The immune system has processes in place, referred to as selection, designed to prevent the development of cells capable of recognizing the self as foreign. While a great deal of work has been invested in understanding these processes, many concrete answers remain elusive. </p><p>Our laboratory, which focuses on understanding the roles of E and Id proteins in lymphocyte development, has established the Id3 knockout mouse as a model of autoimmune disease. Id3 knockout mice develop a disease reminiscent of human Sj&#1255;gren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that progressively damages the salivary and lachrymal glands. Continued study of this model has yielded interesting results. These include the identification of CD4+ T cells as initiators of disease as well as the identification of the cytokine Interleukin 13 (IL-13) as a potential causative agent. However, the source of IL-13, its true role as a causative agent of disease, as well as the developmental basis for its elevated expression remained elusive. </p><p>To this end, I utilized a reporter gene that enabled me to detect cells producing IL-13 as well as test the effects of IL-13 deletion on disease progression. Using this system, I was able to identify both CD4+ T cells and &#947;&#948; T cells as major sources of IL-13. I was also able to determine that elimination of IL-13 in Id3 knockout mice was sufficient to block the development of disease symptoms, reinforcing the hypothesis that IL-13 is a causative agent in disease initiation. Finally, I attempted to better characterize the phenotype of cells producing IL-13. These experiments indicated that the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of Id3 knockout mice is markedly different than that of wild-type (WT) mice. Furthermore, cells bearing certain TCRs appeared to express IL-13 at dramatically different rates, indicating that certain TCRs may be predisposed to IL-13 particular effector fates.</p> / Dissertation

T helper type--2 (Th2) immunity orchestrates responses against extracellular pathogens under normal conditions and mediates pathogenic responses against innocuous substances when dysregulated, leading to allergic disease. Among the cytokines expressed by Th2 cells, interleukin (IL)--13 has emerged as a critical effector molecule in Th2 responses and common IL13 variants are associated with allergy--related phenotypes in populations of distinct ethnic background. IL13 expression in human T cells is paralleled by extensive IL13 locus remodeling, which results in the appearance of multiple DNase I hypersensitive (HS) sites. Among these, HS4 in the distal IL13 promoter is constitutively present in both naive and polarized Th2 cells, and spans a single nucleotide polymorphism, IL13--1512AC (rs1881457), which is common and strongly associated with total serum IgE levels. This dissertation combines in vitro and ex vivo approaches to characterize the role of HS4 in the regulation of IL13 gene expression and to provide novel insights into the mechanisms that underlie the association between IL13--1512AC and allergic disease.The results showed that HS4 acts as a novel cis--acting element that up--regulates IL13 transcription in activated Th2 cells. The enhancing activity of HS4 mapped within the 3' end of this element and was dependent on binding/recruitment of the transcription factors NF90 and NF45. Moreover, the IL13--1512C risk allele significantly enhanced HS4--dependent IL13 expression by creating a binding site for the transcription factor Oct--1. The increased expression of the --1512C allele was dependent on endogenous levels of Oct--1. Collectively, these results illustrate how a functional variant in an important regulatory element may modulate susceptibility to a common complex disease.

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