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(Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2002;72:440-446.)
© 2002 by Society for Leukocyte Biology

Orphan nuclear receptors in T lymphocyte development

You-Wen He

Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina

Correspondence: You-Wen He, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Immunology, Box 3010, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710. E-mail: he000004{at}mc.duke.edu


    ABSTRACT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
Lymphocyte development is initiated from hematopoietic stem cells and can be divided into multiple phenotypically distinct stages. Transcription factors play important roles in programming the developmental process of lymphocytes. Recent studies have identified key roles of several orphan nuclear receptors in T lymphocyte development. The orphan nuclear receptor ROR{gamma} has been shown to promote thymocyte survival by activating the expression of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL. ROR{gamma} is also required for the development of lymph nodes and Peyer’s patches. The orphan receptors Nur77 and Nor1 are involved in TCR-mediated cell death and thymocyte-negative selection. These studies provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of T lymphocyte development.

Key Words: thymocyte apoptosis • thymocyte differentiation • TCR-{alpha} rearrangement • ROR{gamma} • Nur-77 • negative selection


    INTRODUCTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
Orphan nuclear receptors consist of a superfamily of more than 60 members that share similar structural features [1 , 2 ]. A majority of these nuclear receptors have been identified without any previous knowledge of their ligands. Extensive searches in the last several years have identified ligands for a handful of orphan nuclear receptors. However, the ligands for many orphan nuclear receptors are still elusive. Some of the receptors may not have a natural ligand. Orphan nuclear receptors have been shown to control multiple cellular processes, such as cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis in a variety of tissues and organs (reviewed in ref [2 ]). Recent works have demonstrated that several subfamilies of the orphan nuclear receptor superfamily play critical roles in T lymphocyte development. These orphan receptors are the ROR (retinoid acid-related orphan receptor) and Nur77 (NGFI-B) subfamilies. This review summarizes our current understanding of the roles of these orphan receptors in lymphocyte development and function.


    T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
T lymphocyte maturation is completed in the thymus. Hematopoietic stem cells from fetal liver or adult bone marrow migrate into the thymus and commit to the T lineage after receiving signals from the thymic microenvironment. T lymphocyte development can be divided into several distinct stages based on the expression of coreceptors CD4 and CD8 [3 ]. CD4-CD8- double-negative (DN) thymocytes are at the first stage of thymocyte development. Successful T cell receptor-ß (TCRß) gene arrangement and expression at the DN stage will generate a pre-TCR that signals DN cells to proliferate and differentiate into the immature single positive (ISP) stage. CD3-CD4-CD8+ ISP thymocytes further mature into CD4+CD8+ double positive (DP) thymocytes. DP cells make up 80–85% of the total thymocytes.

An important event of thymocyte maturation at the DP stage is TCR{alpha} gene rearrangement. TCR{alpha} genes undergo primary and secondary rearrangement. Primary rearrangement initiates from J{alpha}s at the 5' end of the locus [4 5 6 ]. More 3' J{alpha}s are used through V{alpha}-to-J{alpha} secondary rearrangement that replaces the primary V{alpha}J{alpha} [7 , 8 ]. If the primary rearrangement fails, secondary rearrangements can test additional V{alpha}s located 5' and additional J{alpha}s located 3' to the primary V{alpha}J{alpha} [8 , 9 ]. Secondary rearrangement plays an important role in the formation of a normal TCR repertoire, as DP thymocytes with limited ability to undergo secondary rearrangement as a result of defective recombination-activating gene expression have an unusually 5' biased J{alpha} repertoire [10 ].

TCR{alpha} gene rearrangement is regulated by two cis-acting elements, the T early {alpha} (TEA) promoter and the TCR{alpha} enhancer (E{alpha}) [11 , 12 ]. Mice lacking E{alpha} have a profound defect in TCR{alpha} recombination and expression [12 ], whereas mice lacking TEA and its promoter exhibit defective recombination involving the nine most 5' J{alpha}s [11 ]. Based on the defective 5' J{alpha} use in TEA-/- mice, it is proposed that the function of the TEA promoter is to act as a "rearrangement focusing" element to force the initiation of TCR-{alpha} rearrangements to the 5' end of the J{alpha} locus [11 ]. Recent works demonstrate a role of the orphan receptor ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t in regulating TCR{alpha} repertoire formation [13 ].

After successful rearrangement of TCR{alpha} genes, CD4+CD8+ DP thymocytes face a strict selection process [14 ]. DP thymocytes expressing a TCR with intermediate affinity for self-peptide-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are positively selected and complete maturation. This process is referred to as thymocyte positive selection. DP thymocytes expressing TCR with too high affinity for self-peptide-MHC complex are deleted via programmed cell death in a process termed negative selection. Negative selection accounts for only a small fraction of cell death in the thymus. A vast majority of DP thymocytes expressing TCR with too low affinity to interact with self-peptide-MHC complex also undergo programmed cell death, referred to as "death by neglect." The molecular mechanisms underlying thymocyte positive and negative selection are not well understood. TCR ligation by self-peptide-MHC complex could result in positive or negative selection depending on the types of stromal cells or bone marrow-derived cells. It is generally believed that the avidity of thymocyte-stromal cell or thymocyte-bone marrow-derived cell interaction will determine the fate of immature thymocytes [14 , 15 ]. Strong interaction leads to negative selection while weak interaction results in positive selection.

Negative selection of thymocytes appears to share some of the pathways that are used by T cell activation. For example, costimulatory molecules CD5, CD28, and CD43 may act together with TCR/CD3 complex to activate a pathway leading to programmed cell death of thymocytes [16 17 18 ]. In addition, the extracellular regulated kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways are involved in negative selection [19 , 20 ]. How thymocytes die in negative selection remains unclear. Antigen-induced thymocyte death, which mimics the process of negative selection, can be mediated through Fas-dependent and Fas-independent pathways [21 , 22 ]. Cortical thymocytes die primarily through Fas-independent pathway, whereas semi-mature CD4+CD8-CD24high thymocytes in medulla are deleted in a Fas-dependent manner [21 ]. Other death receptors such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor and DR3 have also been implicated in thymocyte negative selection [21 , 23 ]. However, it is not clear whether these death receptors trigger a caspase cascade in thymocytes undergoing negative selection as a result of conflicting reports [24 , 25 ]. Recent works show that the orphan receptors Nur77 and Nor-1 are involved in negative selection of thymocytes.


    ROR SUBFAMILY
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
The orphan nuclear receptor ROR subfamily consists of three members, ROR{alpha} (NR1F1), RORß (NR1F2), and ROR{gamma} (NR1F3) [26 , 27 ]. The three ROR members share a similar structure with a highly conserved DNA binding domain (DBD) at the N-terminal portion and a less conserved putative ligand-binding domain (LBD) at the C-terminal portion of the proteins. The DBD of RORs is about 66 amino acids long, and most of the amino acids in this region are identical in these three members. In contrast, the LBD of RORs shares approximately 50% identity at the amino acid level [27 ]. The highly conserved DBD of RORs suggests that these orphan receptors bind to the same DNA elements. Several in vitro binding studies indeed showed that RORs bind to a consensus core sequence of AGGTCA immediately preceded by a 6-bp A/T-rich region [28 29 30 ]. Members of the ROR subfamily bind to DNA as monomers [27 ]. Multiple isoforms have been identified for each member of RORs. ROR{alpha} is expressed in at least four different isoforms, {alpha}1, {alpha}2, {alpha}3, and {alpha}4 in mouse [28 , 31 32 33 ] and RORß in two different isoforms, ß1 and ß2 [29 , 34 ]. ROR{gamma} also has two different isoforms, ROR{gamma} ({gamma}1) and ROR{gamma}t ({gamma}2) [35 36 37 ]. Interestingly, all the isoforms of each member of RORs differ solely in the N-terminal domain outside of the DBD. These isoforms have been generated by differential use of promoters or alternative splicing of mRNA.

ROR{alpha} is widely expressed. Among the various tissues expressing ROR{alpha}, higher expression levels were detected in the spleen, skeletal muscle, testis, lens, retina, and the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum [33 , 38 39 40 ]. Genetic studies have demonstrated that ROR{alpha} plays a critical role in the development of the central nervous system (CNS) and is disrupted in natural mutant staggerer mice [41 42 43 ]. Staggerer mice have defects in the development of Purkinje cells and show significant cerebellar abnormalities [44 45 46 ]. It is interesting that Staggerer mice also have a defect in thymocyte development [47 ]. The cerebellar defect of Staggerer mice has been recapitulated in ROR{alpha}-deficient mice generated by gene targeting [41 , 42 ]. However, it has not been demonstrated whether ROR{alpha}-deficient mice exhibit a similar defect of thymocyte development observed in the staggerer mice. The defect of thymocyte development in the staggerer mice might be caused by mutations in a closely linked but independent genetic locus termed small thymus (sty) [48 ]. In addition to its role in the development of CNS, ROR{alpha} may act as a negative regulator of the inflammatory response in vivo [49 ]. When overexpressed in smooth-muscle cells, ROR{alpha} inhibits TNF-{alpha}-induced interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and cyclooxygenase-2 expression. This inhibition is likely through controlling the nuclear factor (NF)-{kappa}B signaling pathway, as ROR{alpha} binds to a ROR response element in the promoter for I{kappa}B{alpha}, a NF-{kappa}B inhibitor, and activates I{kappa}B{alpha} transcription, which in turn, inhibits p65 nuclear translocation [49 ]. It remains to be determined whether ROR{alpha} plays a similar role in regulating inflammatory cytokine production by lymphocytes. The expression of RORß is relatively restricted. RORß is abundantly expressed in areas of the CNS involving the processing of sensory information, including spinal cord, thalamus, and sensory cerebellar cortices [34 , 50 ]. Multiple defects including retinal degeneration and changed circadian activity have been described in the RORß-deficient mice [51 ]. Taken together, these genetic studies have demonstrated important roles of ROR{alpha} and RORß in the development of the CNS. However, the roles of these two members of the ROR family in the development and function of the immune system have not been examined.


    ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE DEVELOPMENT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
ROR{gamma} (also named TOR for thymus orphan receptor) was initially isolated through degeneracy reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and low stringency hybridization [35 , 36 ]. ROR{gamma} consists of 516 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 58 kD. When cotransfected with thyroid hormone receptor and retinoic acid receptor, ROR{gamma} is able to repress the transcriptional activities of these receptors on their corresponding response elements [36 ]. ROR{gamma} is widely expressed in tissues including the thymus, muscle, brain, heart, kidney, liver, and lung [35 , 36 ]. The second isoform of ROR{gamma}, ROR{gamma}t, was isolated in an expression-cloning experiment designed to identify genes that are involved in TCR-mediated cell death [37 ]. ROR{gamma}t contains 495 amino acids and is exclusively expressed in the thymus [37 ]. It differs from ROR{gamma} in the first two exons. Recent data suggest that the generation of ROR{gamma} and ROR{gamma}t is controlled by different promoters [52 ]. Neither isoform is detected in the spleen and bone marrow, indicating that B cells do not express this nuclear receptor [37 ].

ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t can protect T hybridoma cells from TCR-mediated cell death when ectopically expressed. This protection is a result of an inhibitory effect on Fas ligand (FasL) expression [37 ]. ROR{gamma} and ROR{gamma}t also inhibit IL-2 production by T cell hybridomas without affecting early events of T cell activation such as up-regulation of CD69 [37 ]. The effect of this orphan receptor on the expression of FasL and IL-2 is likely because of its competition with NFAT for DNA binding [53 ]. Nuclear factor of activated cells (NFAT) has been shown to bind to the promoters of both genes. ROR{gamma}t was also found to negatively regulate the transcription of c-Rel in vitro and in vivo [54 ], which is essential for IL-2 expression, as T lymphocytes from c-Rel-deficient mice exhibit dramatically reduced capability to produce IL-2 [55 , 56 ]. These results suggest an in vivo role of ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t in regulating cytokine production.

The expression of ROR{gamma} and ROR{gamma}t in the thymus is tightly regulated. Both isoforms are highly expressed in DP thymocytes, gradually down-regulated as DP thymocytes are positively selected, and completely turned off in mature SP thymocytes and peripheral T cells [37 , 54 ]. To test why the expression of ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t is turned off in mature T cells, transgenic mice ectopically expressing this orphan receptor in mature T cells were generated. It was found that multiple functions of mature T cells in ROR{gamma}t transgene (Tg) mice were affected [54 ]. First, the ROR{gamma}t Tg inhibited mature T lymphocytes from proliferation after stimulation through the the TCR/CD3 complex. Second, similar to its effect on T hybridoma cells, ROR{gamma}t inhibited IL-2 production by mature T lymphocytes. The reduced proliferation of mature T cells in ROR{gamma}t Tg mice was not secondary to the reduced production of IL-2, as exogenous IL-2 did not restore the proliferation. Third, mature T cells in ROR{gamma}t Tg mice also expressed lower levels of surface TCR [54 ]. These results are interesting in that ROR{gamma}t Tg expression in mature T cells, even at low levels, conferred some characteristics of immature DP thymocytes on these cells in terms of their TCR expression level, proliferation, and IL-2 production in response to TCR stimulation. The phenotypic similarity between the mature T cells from ROR{gamma}t Tg mice and normal, immature DP cells indicates that down-regulation of the expression of this orphan receptor is essential for the maturation of DP thymocytes into SP thymocytes. Furthermore, these results suggest that the expression level of ROR{gamma}t in developing T cells could be used as a molecular marker to measure their maturity.

Recent studies using ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-deficient mice demonstrate critical roles of this orphan receptor at multiple steps of thymocyte development. The total thymocyte number in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice was reduced to one-third of that found in controls [57 , 58 ]. DP thymocytes were reduced by 60–80%, and CD4+ SP thymocytes were reduced by 90% in the mutant mice. The diminished DP and SP thymocyte populations in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice result from increased cell death of DP cells and decreased differentiation of ISP thymocytes to DP stage [13 , 57 , 58 ]. The increased cell death of DP thymocytes in the mutant mice is likely a result of a dramatically reduced expression of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL [57 , 58 ]. In supporting this, Tg expression of Bcl-xL in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice restored their thymic cellularity and corrected the massive cell death defect [57 ].

Thymocyte development in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice was also impaired in the ISP-to-DP transition [13 ]. The impairment at this transition in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice is reflected by a fivefold increased number of ISP thymocytes in thymi of 3- to 4-week-old mice and a dramatic delay of thymocyte development in young mutant mice. The molecular mechanisms regulating the ISP-to-DP transition are poorly defined. Genetic studies have shown that mice lacking two other transcription factors, T cell factor (TCF-1) and HeLa E-box binding protein (HEB), exhibited a similar defect in the ISP-to-DP transition [59 , 60 ].

Is the impaired ISP-to-DP transition in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice caused by a lack of Bcl-xL expression in DP cells? Two lines of evidences suggest that this is unlikely. First, the impaired ISP-to-DP transition is still observed in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- x Bcl-xL Tg mice, although the increased apoptosis of DP cells is corrected [57 ]. Moreover, Bcl-xL-/- mice did not exhibit a similar defect in the transition from ISP to DP [61 , 62 ]. These results place ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t, alongside TCF-1 and HEB, as important regulators of the ISP to DP transition in thymocyte development.

Another in vivo role of ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t demonstrated in the mutant mice is to regulate the cell-cycle status of DP thymocytes through Bcl-xL expression. It was found that a large fraction of DP thymocytes in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice displayed unregulated entry into the S phase of the cell cycle [57 ]. Furthermore, the expression of the cyclin CDK2 inhibitor p27kip1 was dramatically reduced. The changes in cell-cycle status of DP cells and expression of p27kip1 are secondary to Bcl-xL expression, as Bcl-xL Tg expression corrected the deregulated cell-cycle status of DP thymocytes and the expression level of p27kip1 in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice [57 ].

ROR{gamma}t has been suggested to be a regulator of TCR-{alpha} gene recombination, as it binds to the TEA promoter in vitro [52 ]. Examination of the J{alpha} repertoire in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice revealed that 5' J{alpha}s were overrepresented, and 3' J{alpha}s were underrepresented [13 ]. This is in sharp contrast to TEA-/- mice, in which the use of 5' J{alpha}s was impaired [11 ] and suggests that ROR{gamma}t is not required for the TEA promoter activity in vivo. The impaired 3' J{alpha} use in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice is a result of defective V{alpha}-to-J{alpha} recombination and can be corrected by the expression of Bcl-xL as a Tg [13 ]. Furthermore, Tg expression of Bcl-xL not only corrected defective 3' J{alpha} use in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- thymocytes, but also skewed J{alpha} use to the extreme 3' end of the locus in ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- and wild-type mice [13 ]. Bcl-xL Tg also induced a skewed 3' J{alpha} repertoire in positively selected T cells. These results demonstrate that ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t regulates TCR{alpha} rearrangement and TCR-{alpha} repertoire formation by controlling the survival window of DP thymocytes. In addition, these data indicate that programmed cell death of DP cells is not simply a consequence of failed positive selection. Rather, it limits TCR{alpha} secondary rearrangement and the opportunities for positive selection and therefore represents an important parameter that regulates the TCR-{alpha} repertoire.


    ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE (LN) DEVELOPMENT
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
A surprising observation on ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice is that they lack LN and Peyer’s patches but retain a normal splenic structure [57 ]. LN development can be divided into several distinct stages [63 ]. Formation of lymphatic sacs marks the beginning of LN organogenesis. This is followed by the development of lymphatic vessels through endothelial sprouting from the lymphatic sacs. In the next stage, invagination of mesenchymal connective tissues into the lumen of growing lymph sacs creates LN anlage. Migration of leukocyte into the LN anlage and the formation of subcapsular sinus establish LN microstructure. To date, the following molecules have also been shown to be involved in lymphoid organogenesis: RANK, its ligand RANKL/TRANCE/OPGL, TRAF6, Id2, LT{alpha}, ß, and their receptors, IL-7R{alpha}, IL-2R{gamma}c, chemokine receptor BLR-1, RelA, and NIK [63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 ]. These molecules regulate the survival and/or differentiation of the hematopoietic or nonhematopoietic cells in the establishment of secondary lymphoid organs. The defects exhibited in mice lacking these molecules range from lacking some of the LN to lacking all LN, with or without disrupted spleen structure. For example, like ROR{gamma}/ROR{gamma}t-/- mice, Id2-/- mice also lack most of the LN, including inguinal, iliac, sacral, mesenteric, axillary, cervical LN, and Peyer’s patches but retain a normal spleen structure [66 ]. Mice deficient for lymphotoxin (LT){alpha} or the LTß receptor lack all LN, whereas mice deficient for LTß or OPGL/RANKL/TRANCE lack only some of LN. In contrast to ROR{gamma}t/ROR{gamma} and Id2-deficient mice, the splenic structure in most of the TNF family member deficient mice is disrupted. The mechanism by which ROR{gamma}t/ROR{gamma} regulate LN development is not clear. The defective LN development in these mice may be a result of the lack of the CD45+CD4+CD3-IL-7R{alpha}+{alpha}4ß7+LTß+ hematopoietic cell population in fetal mesentery and intestines [57 ]. This population is found in the embryonic stage of mouse development and has been proposed to play an instrumental role in the establishment of lymphoid organ architecture [79 ]. ROR{gamma}t/ROR{gamma} may be required for the survival of the putative LN precursors by activating Bcl-xL expression in these cells. Alternatively, ROR{gamma}t/ROR{gamma} may regulate expression of genes involved in the migration of this population. Future experiments are required to test these possibilities.


    Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE NEGATIVE SELECTION
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
The Nur77 (NGFI-B) subfamily consists of three members including Nur77 (NGFI-B{alpha}), Nurr1 (NGFI-Bß), and Nor1 (NGFI-B{gamma}) [1 , 2 ]. The structural feature for the members of this subfamily is that in addition to a central DBD and a C-terminal LBD, a transactivation domain is localized at the N-terminal portion. The DBD is >90% homology, and the LBD is intermediately conserved in this subfamily. The transactivation domain is not well conserved with a homology of 27% between Nur77 and Nurr1 or 21% between Nur77 and Nor1 [80 ]. Nur77 is widely expressed in tissues including thymus, muscle, lung, liver, testis, ovary, ventral prostate and the adrenal, thyroid, and pituitary glands [81 82 83 84 85 ]. Nurr1 is detected in thymus, osteoblasts, liver, and pituitary gland [85 86 87 ], and Nor1 is expressed at a high level in the pituitary gland and at low levels in thymus, kidney, heart, skeletal muscle, and adrenal glands [87 88 89 ]. Nur77 subfamily members have been shown to bind DNA as monomers, homodimers, or heterodimers with RXR. Nur77 binds to monomeric response elements containing AAAGGTCA.

Nur77 was originally identified as an immediate early gene in response to NGF stimulation in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells [81 ]. The role of Nur77 in TCR-mediated apoptosis has been demonstrated in T cell hybridomas [90 , 91 ]. Nur77 was rapidly induced in T hybridoma cells undergoing TCR-mediated cell death. Expression of a dominant-negative Nur77 protein or antisense Nur77 mRNA blocked TCR-mediated apoptosis of these cells [90 , 91 ]. Furthermore, thymocytes undergoing TCR-mediated apoptosis also express high levels of Nur77, suggesting that Nur77 might play a role in thymocyte-negative selection. Transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative form of Nur77 blocked antigen-induced apoptosis of DP thymocytes and prevented clonal deletion of self-reactive T cells [92 , 93 ]. In contrast, overexpression of full-length Nur77 in thymus resulted in massive apoptosis of thymocytes. The increased apoptosis of thymocytes in the full-length Nur77 transgenic mice could not be rescued by introducing a FasL mutation, indicating that the cell death is not a result of the increased expression of FasL. Therefore, FasL is not a major downstream target of Nur77 [92 , 94 ]. These results suggest that thymocyte negative selection depends on a pathway that requires Nur77 function. However, mice deficient for Nur77 showed no defect in thymocyte negative selection [95 ]. The normal thymic phenotype in Nur77-/- mice may be a result of a functional redundancy of Nor1 in the thymus. Nor1 is not only expressed in a similar pattern to Nur77, but also can induce massive apoptosis of thymocytes when overexpressed as a full-length protein [94 ]. A clear functional role of Nur77/Nor1 in thymocyte negative selection requires the generation of mice lacking Nur77 and Nor1. Besides its role in TCR-mediated lymphocyte death, Nur77 is also involved in T hybridoma death induced by thapsigargin [96 ], suggesting that Nur77 may regulate some shared death pathway in both types of apoptosis.

Recent advances showed that the regulation of Nur77 occurs at transcription and protein levels. Myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF2), a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor, is responsible for calcium-dependent Nur77 transcription [97 , 98 ]. In the absence of calcium, MEF2 is associated with a protein complex containing transcriptional repressors Cabin 1 and mSin3 and histone deacetylases [98 ]. In the presence of calcium, activated calmodulin binds to Cabin 1 and releases it from MEF2. Histone acetyltransferase P300 replaces Cabin 1 to form a transactivating protein complex with MEF2, resulting in the transcription of Nur77 [98 ]. Upon its expression, Nur77 may recruit its own interacting partners for gene activation or repression. AF2-dependent coactivator ASC-2 and corepressor SMRT have been shown to interact with Nur77, directly or indirectly [99 ]. These interactions result in activation or repression of reporter genes. The coactivation function of ASC-2 on Nur77-mediated transcription depends on the presence of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV) [99 ]. Interestingly, CaMKIV also potentiates ROR{alpha}- and ROR{gamma}-mediated transcription [100 ], suggesting that these orphan receptors use common kinases for their activities. Nur77 is also regulated at the protein level through phosphorylation of a serine residue at position 350 by protein kinase Akt [101 , 102 ]. Phosphorylation of Ser-350 of Nur77 by Akt dramatically decreases the transcriptional activity of Nur77 and stimulates its association with 14-3-3, a protein family with antiapoptotic function [103 ]. These results suggest that Akt antagonizes apoptosis by inhibiting the function of Nur77.


    CONCLUDING REMARKS
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 
The roles of orphan nuclear receptors in regulating cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis have been extensively studied in the past decade. These studies have shown that the function of these nuclear receptors is not restricted just to the basic endocrine system, but in all organs. However, little is known about the roles of orphan nuclear receptors in the development and function of lymphocytes. Among the more than 60 nuclear receptor members identified so far, only a few of them have been demonstrated to play key roles in the development and function of lymphocytes. Future studies will undoubtedly reveal that more orphan nuclear receptors play critical roles in lymphocyte development and function. These future findings will offer opportunities for therapeutic intervention of diseases involving orphan nuclear receptors.


    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 
This work is supported by American Cancer Society Grant RSG-0125201. I thank Iratxe Abarrategui and Linda Grasfeder for carefully reading this manuscript.

Received January 23, 2002; revised April 7, 2002; accepted April 8, 2002.


    REFERENCES
 TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 T LYMPHOCYTE MATURATION
 ROR SUBFAMILY
 ROR{gamma} IN T LYMPHOCYTE...
 ROR{gamma} IN LYMPH NODE...
 Nur77 SUBFAMILY IN THYMOCYTE...
 CONCLUDING REMARKS
 REFERENCES
 

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