Regulation of B versus T lymphoid lineage fate decision by the proto-oncogene LRF.

Hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow give rise to lymphoid progenitors, which subsequently differentiate into B and T lymphocytes. Here we show that the proto-oncogene LRF plays an essential role in the B versus T lymphoid cell-fate decision. We demonstrate that LRF is key for instructing early lymphoid progenitors in mice to develop into B lineage cells by repressing T cell-instructive signals produced by the cell-fate signal protein, Notch. We propose a new model for lymphoid lineage commitment, in which LRF acts as a master regulator of the cell's determination of B versus T lineage.