eosinophil recruitment (11, 38). However, other reports have
shown inhibitory properties of IFN-
␥
directly on eosinophil infil-
tration into inflammatory tissues (53, 54). Our results support the
idea that NFAT1 plays a positive regulatory role in IFN-
␥
produc-
tion by CD8
ϩ
T cells and may control allergic inflammation in
vivo. In contrast, a recent report have shown that inhibition of all
NFAT family members in T cells prevents allergic pulmonary in-
flammation, early eosinophil recruitment to the lungs, and Th2
response development (55). These results support the idea that
different NFAT members may play specific roles during immune
responses in vivo, because this family consists of five proteins with
distinct properties in the regulation of cytokine genes.
In conclusion, we demonstrate in this study that IFN-
␥
produc-
tion by naive CD8
ϩ
T cells during primary stimulation is highly
dependent on NFAT1 transcription factor. We also indicate that
CD8
ϩ
T cells and IFN-
␥
are essential to control allergic inflam
-
mation. Finally, we suggest that NFAT1 protein plays a positive
regulatory role on IFN-
␥
production in CD8
ϩ
T cells, which is
central to the generation of Th1 immune responses in vivo.
Acknowledgments
We are especially grateful to M. A. Barcinski and B. L. Diaz for comments
on the work and manuscript, and to members of our laboratory for helpful
advice and discussions. We are in debt to A. Rao, C. Wilson, and
F. Cunha for kindly providing reagents, and to E. Abrantes for help with
gene reporter experiments.
Disclosures
The authors have no financial conflict of interest.
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5938 REGULATION OF IFN-
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EXPRESSION IN CD8
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T CELLS