In mammals, including humans, nearly all physiological processes are subject to daily oscillations that are governed by a circadian timing system with a complex hierarchical structure. The central pacemaker, residing in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the ventral hypothalamus, is synchronized daily by photic cues transmitted from the retina to SCN neurons via the retinohypothalamic tract. In turn, the SCN must establish phase coherence between self-sustained and cell-autonomous oscillators present in most peripheral cell types. The synchronization signals (Zeitgebers) can be controlled more or less directly by the SCN. In mice and rats, feeding-fasting rhythms, which are driven by the SCN through rest-activity cycles, are the most potent Zeitgebers for the circadian oscillators of peripheral organs. Signaling through the glucocorticoid receptor and the serum response factor also participate in the phase entrainment of peripheral clocks, and these two pathways are controlled by the SCN independently of feeding-fasting rhythms. Body temperature rhythms, governed by the SCN directly and indirectly through rest -activity cycles, are perhaps the most surprising cues for peripheral oscillators. Although the molecular makeup of circadian oscillators is nearly identical in all cells, these oscillators are used for different purposes in the SCN and in peripheral organs.

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Foxp3-expressing regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential for immune tolerance; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying Treg cell expansion and function are still not well understood. SUMOylation is a protein post-translational modification characterized by covalent attachment of SUMO moieties to lysines. UBC9 is the only E2 conjugating enzyme involved in this process, and loss of UBC9 completely abolishes the SUMOylation pathway. Here, we report that selective deletion of Ubc9 within the Treg lineage results in fatal early-onset autoimmunity similar to Foxp3 mutant mice. Ubc9-deficient Treg cells exhibit severe defects in TCR-driven homeostatic proliferation, accompanied by impaired activation and compromised suppressor function. Importantly, TCR ligation enhanced SUMOylation of IRF4, a critical regulator of Treg cell function downstream of TCR signals, which regulates its stability in Treg cells. Our data thus have demonstrated an essential role of SUMOylation in the expansion and function of Treg cells.