NFATmediated
NFAT-mediated refers to cellular processes governed by the Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells (NFAT) family of transcription factors. NFAT proteins are activated by calcium signaling through the phosphatase calcineurin, which dephosphorylates NFAT and permits its translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, where it binds NFAT-responsive elements in target gene promoters and enhancers. In T lymphocytes, NFAT is central to cytokine gene expression (such as IL-2 and IL-4), T cell proliferation, differentiation, and tolerance. NFAT activity is context-dependent and often requires cooperation with the AP-1 transcription factor complex; without AP-1, NFAT can regulate different genes and influence anergy or regulatory T cell development.
The mammalian NFAT family includes NFATc1 (NFAT2), NFATc2 (NFAT1), NFATc3 (NFAT4), and NFATc4 (NFAT3). A related
Pharmacologically, calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporine A and tacrolimus suppress NFAT activation and are used to