Unveiling IRF4-steered regulation of context-dependent effector programs in CD4+ T cells under Th17- and Treg-skewing conditions

Abstract

The transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is crucial for the fate determination of pro-inflammatory T helper (Th) 17 and the functionally opposing group of immunomodulatory regulatory T (Treg) cells. However, the molecular mechanisms of how IRF4 steers diverse transcriptional programs in Th17 and Treg cells are far from being definitive. Here, we integrated data derived from affinity-purification and full mass-spectrometry-based proteome analysis with chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing. This allowed the characterization of subtype-specific molecular programs and the identification of IRF4 interactors in the Th17/Treg context. Our data reveal that IRF4-interacting transcription factors are recruited to IRF composite elements for the regulation of cell-type-specific transcriptional programs as exemplarily demonstrated for FLI1, which, in cooperation with IRF4, promotes Th17-specific gene expression. FLI1 inhibition markedly impaired Th17 differentiation. The present “omics” dataset provides a valuable resource for studying IRF4-mediated gene regulatory programs in pro- and anti-inflammatory immune responses.