The Transcription Factor PLZF Directs the Effector Program of the NKT Cell Lineage

The transcriptional control of CD1d-restricted NKT cell development has remained elusive. We report that PLZF (promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger; Zbtb16), a member of the BTB/POZ-ZF family of transcription factors which includes the CD4 lineage-specific c-Krox (Th-POK, Zbtb7b), is exquisitely specific to CD1d-restricted NKT cells and human MR1-specific MAIT cells. PLZF was induced immediately after positive selection of NKT cell precursors and PLZF-deficient NKT cells failed to undergo the intrathymic expansion and effector differentiation that characterize their lineage. Instead, they preserved a naïve phenotype and were directed to lymph nodes. Conversely, transgenic expression of PLZF induced CD4 thymocytes to acquire effector differentiation and migrate to non-lymphoid tissues. We suggest that PLZF is a transcriptional signature of NKT cells that directs their innate-like effector differentiation during thymic development.