Blimp1: driving terminal differentiation to a T.

B lymphocyte maturation-induced protein-1 (Blimp1) is a transcriptional repressor expressed in diverse cell types. In the adaptive immune system, Blimp1 is expressed in lymphocytes that have undergone effector differentiation. Blimp1 is a master regulator of plasma cell differentiation and plays important roles in controlling T cell homeostasis and effector differentiation. Blimp1 can be induced by a variety of cytokines including IL-2, IL-4, IL-12, and IL-21 in addition to TCR and co-stimulatory signals. Blimp1-deficient mice develop spontaneous inflammatory disease mediated by infiltration of activated T cells into tissues. During immune responses Blimp1 is required for the differentiation of plasma cells as well as short-lived CD8(+) cytotoxic T cells. Mounting evidence suggests that Blimp1 plays a common role in the terminal differentiation of multiple cell subsets.