Critical Role of the Transcription Factor AKNA in T-Cell Activation: An Integrative Bioinformatics Approach

Critical Role of the Transcription Factor AKNA in T-Cell Activation: An Integrative Bioinformatics Approach

The human <i>akna</i> gene encodes an AT-hook transcription factor, the expression of which is involved in various cellular processes. The goal of this study was to identify potential AKNA binding sites in genes that participate in T-cell activation and validate selected genes. Here we a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abrahan Ramírez-González, Pedro Ávila-López, Margarita Bahena-Román, Carla O. Contreras-Ochoa, Alfredo Lagunas-Martínez, Elizabeth Langley, Joaquín Manzo-Merino, Vicente Madrid-Marina, Kirvis Torres-Poveda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
AKNA
computational biology
immune response
cell activation
AT-hook transcription factor
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/4/4212
Description
Summary:The human <i>akna</i> gene encodes an AT-hook transcription factor, the expression of which is involved in various cellular processes. The goal of this study was to identify potential AKNA binding sites in genes that participate in T-cell activation and validate selected genes. Here we analyzed ChIP-seq and microarray assays to determine AKNA-binding motifs and the cellular process altered by AKNA in T-cell lymphocytes. In addition, we performed a validation analysis by RT-qPCR to assess AKNA’s role in promoting <i>IL-2</i> and <i>CD80</i> expression. We found five AT-rich motifs that are potential candidates as AKNA response elements. We identified these AT-rich motifs in promoter regions of more than a thousand genes in activated T-cells, and demonstrated that AKNA induces the expression of genes involved in helper T-cell activation, such as <i>IL-2</i>. The genomic enrichment and prediction of AT-rich motif analyses demonstrated that AKNA is a transcription factor that can potentially modulate gene expression by recognizing AT-rich motifs in a plethora of genes that are involved in different molecular pathways and processes. Among the cellular processes activated by AT-rich genes, we found inflammatory pathways potentially regulated by AKNA, suggesting AKNA is acting as a master regulator during T-cell activation.
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067

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