Division of Molecular Immunology, Institute for Enzyme Research, University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan.
Eur J Immunol. 2011 Jan;41(1):12-7. doi: 10.1002/eji.201041024.
The current prevailing view regarding the role of Aire in self-tolerance is that it is involved in the transcriptional control of many tissue-restricted self-antigen genes in thymic epithelial cells in the medulla (mTECs); however, accumulating evidence also suggests that Aire has other roles, e.g. in mTEC differentiation, and furthermore that Aire can either promote or inhibit the mTEC differentiation program, i.e. Aire does not play a neutral role in mTEC differentiation. This review discusses when and how Aire plays an important role in controlling the organization of mTECs required for the expression of self-antigen genes.
目前普遍认为，Aire 在自身耐受中的作用涉及到胸腺髓质上皮细胞（mTEC）中许多组织特异性自身抗原基因的转录控制；然而，越来越多的证据也表明 Aire 具有其他作用，例如 mTEC 分化，此外，Aire 可以促进或抑制 mTEC 分化程序，即 Aire 在 mTEC 分化中不起中性作用。本文讨论了 Aire 在何时以及如何发挥重要作用，以控制表达自身抗原基因所需的 mTEC 组织。
