Kruppel-like factor 2 regulates thymocyte and T-cell migration

The transcription factor KLF2 has long been thought to play a critical role in controlling survival and quiescence of mature T cells, since KLF2-deficient T cells develop in the thymus but fail to populate peripheral lymph organs. A new study offers an alternative explanation for this phenotype, consistent with an entirely different function for KLF2 as a regulator of thymocyte and T-cell migration. Proteins of the KLF (Kruppel-like transcription factor) family are involved in many aspects of vertebrate development and are implicated in a number of disease states. This newly discovered role for KLF2 is similar to some other KLFs that are essential for terminal differentiation of various cell types.