AUTHOR=Luo Yuan , Li Dan , Xie Luoyingzi , Lei Shun , Chen Xiangyu , Wang Cong , Yao Dong , Li Lin , Fang Jingyi , Chen Cheng , Yuan Shijie , Li Fei , Xie Xiaorong , Zhang Yan , Li Zhirong , Hu Li , Tang Jianfang , Ye Lilin , Wei Zhengping , He Ran 

TITLE=EZH2 restricts Tcf7 DNA methylation and promotes TFH differentiation during acute viral infection

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.942465

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.942465

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>Follicular helper T (T<sub>FH</sub>) cells provide specialized help for B cells to ensure optimal humoral immunity. The histone methyltransferase EZH2, as a chromatin repressor, secures the T<sub>FH</sub> differentiation by promoting T<sub>FH</sub> lineage associated gene expression during acute viral infection, including <italic>Tcf7</italic> and <italic>Bcl6</italic>. By using conditional deletion murine system, we observed that EZH2 ablation in CD4<sup>+</sup> T cells was accompanied by aberrant accumulation of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) DNMT1 and DNMT3B in T<sub>FH</sub> cells. And the loss of EZH2 promoted aggravation of DNA methylation status at <italic>Tcf7</italic> locus. Therefore, our findings suggested that EZH2 plays an important role in maintenance of hypomethylation at <italic>Tcf7</italic> locus thus affecting T<sub>FH</sub> differentiation during acute viral infection.
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