IL-21 Inhibits IFN-γ Production in Developing Th1 Cells through the Repression of Eomesodermin Expression

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Abstract
Exposure of naive Th cell precursors (Thp) to IL-21 inhibits IFN-γ production from developing Th1 cells. The inhibition of IFN-γ seen in IL-21-treated Thp cells is specific as the expression of other Th1 cytokines is unaffected. Recently, it has been reported that Eomesodermin (Eomes), a member of the T-box gene family, is expressed in developing CD8+ T cells and plays an important role in regulating IFN-γ production and cytolytic effector function. In this study, we show that Eomes mRNA and protein are also expressed in developing Th1 cells, and exposure of naive Thp cells to IL-21 results in a decrease in Eomes expression. Moreover, the repression of Eomes expression by IL-21 is not due to an indirect effect of IL-21 on the expression of IFN-γ or STAT4 and is independent of STAT1 and T-bet expression. Finally, we show that ectopic expression of Eomes prevents the inhibition of IFN-γ production from IL-21-treated Thp cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Eomes plays a role in regulating IFN-γ production in CD4+ T cells and IL-21 inhibits IFN-γ production in developing Th1 cells through the repression of Eomes expression.