Regulation of immune cell homeostasis and function by coronin 1.

Abstract

Coronin 1 is the most recent candidate in the list of genes causing severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in humans. A distinctive feature of the SCID induced by coronin 1 deficiency is selective naïve T cell lymphopenia in the presence of a normal thymus as well as normal B cell and natural killer cell numbers (T(-)B(+)NK(+)). Coronin 1 is a member of the evolutionarily conserved coronin protein family, members of which are widely expressed across the eukaryotic kingdom. Mammals express seven coronin molecules, numbered from coronin 1 to 7. The different coronin proteins have a distinct but overlapping tissue expression and have been reported to be involved in a wide array of cellular functions including calcium homeostasis, cytoskeletal dynamics, immune and inflammatory responses, neuromuscular transmission as well as cognition and behavior. In this minireview, we describe the role of coronin 1 in the maintenance of immune cell diversity and function.