Role of the basic leucine zipper transcription factor BATF2 in modulating immune responses and inflammation in health and disease

Abstract

BATF2 is a transcription factor known to exhibit tumor-suppressive activity in cancer cells. Within recent years, however, BATF2 has also emerged as an important transcriptional regulator of the immune system. Through its immunomodulatory function, BATF2 has been implicated in a variety of (patho)physiological processes, including host defense against infection, antitumor immunity, and maintenance of tissue inflammatory homeostasis. Below, we discuss recent literature that has provided insight into the role of BATF2 as a transcriptional regulator of immune responses in health and disease, including the cell types that express BATF2, the different diseases in which the immunomodulatory effects of BATF2 have been shown to play a role, and the molecular mechanisms through which BATF2 is thought to exert those effects. In doing so, we highlight that the immunological effects of BATF2 are highly context dependent, and we point out the overlap between the mechanisms of action of BATF2 in infectious and noninfectious diseases. We also discuss areas of interest for future research, the clinical relevance of better understanding BATF2 function, and potential strategies for therapeutic modulation of BATF2.

Keywords: BATF2; immune response; infectious diseases; inflammation; transcription factor.