Splicing factor SRSF1 controls T cell hyperactivity and systemic autoimmunity

Purpose: The goals of this study are to determine the role of the serine/ arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1) in T cells and autoimmune disease. Methods: Naive CD4 T cells from spleens of 7-week old wild-type (WT) and serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1 conditional knockout (Srsf1-cKO) mice (n=3 each) were stimulated with anti-CD3 (0.5μg/mL) and anti-CD28 (1μg/mL) for 72 hours. Cells were re-stimulated with PMA (100ng/mL) and Ionomycin (1μM) for 4 hours. Total RNA was extracted using the RNeasy mini kit (Qiagen) and submitted for sequencing to the Molecular Biology Core Facility (MBCF) at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). Libraries were prepared using Illumina TruSeq Stranded mRNA sample preparation kits according to the manufacturer’s protocols. Samples were sequenced on an Illumina NextSeq500 run with single-end 75-bp reads. Data analyses were performed by the MBCF at DFCI and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Biostatistics Core