@article{TEXTUAL,
      recid = {8424},
      author = {Shaffer, Meredith H. and Huang, Yanping and Corbo, Evann  and Wu, Gregory F. and Velez, Marielena and Choi, John K.  and Saotome, Ichiko and Cannon, Judy L. and McClatchey,  Andrea I. and Sperling, Anne I. and Maltzman, Jonathan S.  and Oliver, Paula M. and Bhandoola, Avinash and Laufer,  Terri M. and Burkhardt, Janis K.},
      title = {Ezrin Is Highly Expressed in Early Thymocytes, but  Dispensable for T Cell Development in Mice},
      journal = {PLOS ONE},
      address = {2010-08-27},
      number = {TEXTUAL},
      abstract = {&lt;p&gt;Background: Ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) proteins are  highly homologous proteins that function to link cargo  molecules to the actin cytoskeleton. Ezrin and moesin are  both expressed in mature lymphocytes, where they play  overlapping roles in cell signaling and polarity, but their  role in lymphoid development has not been  explored.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Methodology/Principal Findings: We  characterized ERM protein expression in lymphoid tissues  and analyzed the requirement for ezrin expression in  lymphoid development. In wildtype mice, we found that most  cells in the spleen and thymus express both ezrin and  moesin, but little radixin. ERM protein expression in the  thymus was differentially regulated, such that ezrin  expression was highest in immature thymocytes and  diminished during T cell development. In contrast, moesin  expression was low in early thymocytes and upregulated  during T cell development. Mice bearing a germline deletion  of ezrin exhibited profound defects in the size and  cellularity of the spleen and thymus, abnormal thymic  architecture, diminished hematopoiesis, and increased  proportions of granulocytic precursors. Further analysis  using fetal liver chimeras and thymic transplants showed  that ezrin expression is dispensable in hematopoietic and  stromal lineages, and that most of the defects in lymphoid  development in ezrin&lt;sup&gt;−/−&lt;/sup&gt; mice likely arise as a  consequence of nutritional  stress.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Conclusions/Significance: We conclude that  despite high expression in lymphoid precursor cells, ezrin  is dispensable for lymphoid development, most likely due to  redundancy with moesin.&lt;/p&gt;},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/8424},
}