Role of FOXN1 in Xenopus Laevis Thymopoiesis

    May 2022 in “ ˜The œjournal of immunology/˜The œJournal of immunology ”
    Dionysia dionysia Dimitrakopoulou, Eleanor Wise Bellin, Marko E. Horb, Jacques Robert
    TLDR FOXN1 is crucial for thymus development and immune response in Xenopus laevis.
    The study investigates the role of the transcription factor FOXN1 in thymopoiesis in the amphibian Xenopus laevis. Using CRISPR/Cas9, researchers generated a foxn1-deficient X. laevis model, which showed high mutational efficiency (30-90%) and resulted in about 25% of tadpoles exhibiting hypoplastic thymi. This disruption led to a significant reduction in T-cell markers and decreased CD3e staining in the spleen. Additionally, foxn1 mutations affected the innate immune response to Mycobacterium marinum infection, indicating a potential for X. laevis as a nonmammalian model for studying host-pathogen interactions and immune responses.
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