FOXO1 regulates L-selectin and a network of human T cell homing molecules downstream of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase

In T cells, the PI3K pathway promotes proliferation and survival induced by Ag or growth factors, in part by inactivating the FOXO transcription factor 1. We now report that FOXO1 controls the expression of L-selectin, an essential homing molecule, in human T lymphocytes. This control is already operational in unprimed T cells and involves a transcriptional regulation process that requires the FOXO1 DNA-binding domain. Using transcriptional profiling, we demonstrate that FOXO1 also increases transcripts of EDG1 and EDG6, two sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors that regulate lymphocyte trafficking. Additionally, FOXO1 binds the promoter of the cell quiescence and homing regulator Kruppel-like factor 2 and regulates its expression. Together, these results reveal a new function of FOXO I in the immune system and suggest that PI3K controls a coordinated network of transcription factors regulating both cell quiescence and homing of human T lymphocytes.