Neutrophils display distinct gene expression patters depending on their developmental stage, activation state and tissue microenvironment. To determine the transcription factor networks that shape these responses in a mouse model, we integrated transcriptional and chromatin analyses of neutrophils during acute inflammation. We showed active chromatin remodeling at two transition stages: bone marrow-to-blood and blood-to-tissue. Analysis of differentially accessible regions revealed distinct sets of putative transcription factors associated with control of neutrophil inflammatory responses. Using ex vivo and in vivo approaches, we confirmed that RUNX1 and KLF6 modulate neutrophil maturation, whereas RELB, IRF5 and JUNB drive neutrophil effector responses and RFX2 and RELB promote survival. Interfering with neutrophil activation by targeting one of these factors, JUNB, reduced pathological inflammation in a mouse model of myocardial infarction. Therefore, our study represents a blueprint for transcriptional control of neutrophil responses in acute inflammation and opens possibilities for stage-specific therapeutic modulation of neutrophil function in disease.
Journal article
Nat immunol
09/2021
22
1093 - 1106
Animals, CHO Cells, Cell Line, Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly, Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit, Cricetulus, Female, Inflammation, Interferon Regulatory Factors, Kruppel-Like Factor 6, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Myocardial Infarction, Neutrophils, Regulatory Factor X Transcription Factors, Transcription Factor RelB, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic, Transcriptional Activation