Transcriptome analysis of TACI-deficient and WT naïve T cells

TACI (transmembrane activator and calcium modulator and cyclophilin ligand interactor) plays critical roles in B cells by promoting immunoglobulin class-switching and plasma cell survival. However, its expression and function in T cells remain controversial. In this study, we found that TACI deficiency in mice results in expansion of TH17 and Treg populations. To understand the mechanisms underlying increased frequencies and numbers of TH17 cells correlated with more severe colitis in TACI-/- mice, microarray-based transcriptome analysis was conducted to identify genes that were differentially expressed in TACI-/- vs WT naive CD4+ T cells. Naive CD4+ T cells were FACS-sorted from pooled spleens and lymph nodes of TACI-/- and WT mice (n = 2 each).