Noncanonical K27-Linked Polyubiquitination of TIEG1 Regulates Foxp3 Expression and Tumor Growth

Earlier, we demonstrated the essential role of Kruppel-like transcription factor, TIEG1, in TGF-beta-induced regulatory T cell (Treg) development. In this article, we demonstrate that IL-6, which promotes Th17 development, abrogated TIEG1 nuclear translocation and inhibited TGF-beta-induced Treg development. Tyrosine kinase Tyk2-mediated phosphorylation of TIEG1 at Tyr179 promoted noncanonical K-27-linked polyubiquitination, which inhibited TIEG1 nuclear translocation. To test the role of TIEG1-regulated Treg/Th17 development in antitumor immunity, we analyzed TRAMP-C2 tumor growth in TIEG1(-/-) mice. The defective Treg development and elevated Th17 response resulted in enhanced immune reactivity in the tumor and inhibition of TRAMP-C2 tumor growth in TIEG1(-/-) mice. Thus, our results uncovered a novel regulatory mechanism that modulates Tregs and may regulate tumor progression. The Journal of Immunology, 2011, 186: 5638-5647.