The Methyltransferase DOT1L Limits Activation and the Th1 Program in CD4+ T Cells During Infection and Inflammation

DOT1L leaves its mark on adaptive immunity

“…Despite the emerging roles for DOT1L in various cell types and diseases, its function in the immune system was, until recently, largely uncharacterised. In two recent articles, studies by Sebastian Scheer and colleagues 5 and Liam Kealy and colleagues 6 define critical regulatory functions for DOT1L in T and B lymphocytes. Because DOT1L deficiency leads to embryonic lethality in mice, 7 both studies utilise conditional knockout (KO) mouse models to investigate DOT1L function in specific populations of T and B lymphocytes.…”

“…Scheer et al . show that DOT1L is an important regulator of T‐cell development by crossing Cd4 ‐Cre transgenic mice with Dot1l fl/fl mice to generate mice lacking DOT1L in T cells 5 . These studies were prompted by a recent discovery by the same group that identified DOT1L as a regulator of T‐cell function 8 .…”