Kruppel-like factor 2 controls T cell trafficking by activating L-selectin (CD62L) and sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 transcription.

Krüppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) is a member of zinc-finger transcription factors. Based on its expression in naive and memory T cells and the activated phenotype of few T cells in mice lacking KLF2 in the lymphoid lineage, KLF2 is postulated to regulate T cell homeostasis by promoting cell quiescence. In this study, we show that in reporter gene assays KLF2 directly activates the promoters of both CD62L and sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1), whose expression is critical for T cell egress from the thymus and homing to the lymph nodes. Correspondingly, exogenous KLF2 expression in primary T cells significantly up-regulates both CD62L and S1P1. Following adoptive transfer, KLF2-transduced T cells are much more efficient in homing to lymphoid organs than nontransduced T cells. These findings suggest that KLF2 regulates T cell homeostasis at least partly by controlling CD62L and S1P1 expression, and therefore T cell egress from the thymus and circulation in the periphery.