Natural Regulatory T Cells (natural + regulatory_t_cell)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Brief Definitive Report: Human visceral leishmaniasis is not associated with expansion or accumulation of Foxp3+ CD4 cells in blood or spleen

PARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 7 2010
R. MAURYA
Summary Natural regulatory T cells (CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+), natural regulatory T cells (nTreg), play an important role in the regulation of inflammatory immune responses. However, the immunosuppressive properties of nTreg may unfavourably affect the host's ability to clear certain infections. In human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), reports on the frequency and function of nTreg are not conclusive. A limitation of our own previous studies that did not indicate a major role for Foxp3+ nTreg in VL pathogenesis was that Foxp3 was measured by mRNA expression alone, as other tools were not available at the time. We have in this study assessed CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells in splenic aspirates and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from an extensive series of patients with VL and endemic controls (EC) by flow cytometry (FACS). The results do not show increased frequencies of Foxp3+ cells in patient with VL pre- and post-treatment, neither were they elevated when compared to PBMC of EC. We conclude that active VL is not associated with increased frequencies of peripheral Foxp3 Treg or accumulation at the site of infection. [source]


Loss of FOXP3 expression in natural human CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells upon repetitive in vitro stimulation

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Petra Hoffmann
Abstract The adoptive transfer of CD4+CD25+ natural regulatory T cells (Treg) is a promising strategy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and the prevention of alloresponses after transplantation. Clinical trials exploring this strategy require efficient in vitro expansion of this rare cell population. Protocols developed thus far rely on high-grade purification of Treg prior to culture initiation, a process still hampered by the lack of Treg cell-specific surface markers. Depletion of CD127+ cells was shown to separate activated conventional T cells from natural Treg cell populations allowing the isolation of highly enriched FOXP3+ cells with all functional and molecular characteristics of natural Treg. Here, we demonstrate that upon in vitro expansion, CpG methylation in a conserved region within the FOXP3 gene locus increased in CD4+CD25+CD127low Treg, correlating with loss of FOXP3 expression and emergence of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Further analysis identified CD45RA,FOXP3+ memory-type Treg as the main source of converting cells, whereas CD45RA+FOXP3+ Treg from the same donors showed no conversion within 3,wk of in vitro expansion. Thus, Treg cell lineage differentiation does not seem to represent a final fate decision, as natural Treg can lose their cell-type-specific characteristics after repetitive TCR stimulation. [source]


Statins and natural regulatory T cells in HIV infection

HIV MEDICINE, Issue 2 2008
L Mascitelli
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Brief Definitive Report: Human visceral leishmaniasis is not associated with expansion or accumulation of Foxp3+ CD4 cells in blood or spleen

PARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 7 2010
R. MAURYA
Summary Natural regulatory T cells (CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+), natural regulatory T cells (nTreg), play an important role in the regulation of inflammatory immune responses. However, the immunosuppressive properties of nTreg may unfavourably affect the host's ability to clear certain infections. In human visceral leishmaniasis (VL), reports on the frequency and function of nTreg are not conclusive. A limitation of our own previous studies that did not indicate a major role for Foxp3+ nTreg in VL pathogenesis was that Foxp3 was measured by mRNA expression alone, as other tools were not available at the time. We have in this study assessed CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells in splenic aspirates and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from an extensive series of patients with VL and endemic controls (EC) by flow cytometry (FACS). The results do not show increased frequencies of Foxp3+ cells in patient with VL pre- and post-treatment, neither were they elevated when compared to PBMC of EC. We conclude that active VL is not associated with increased frequencies of peripheral Foxp3 Treg or accumulation at the site of infection. [source]


Specific central nervous system recruitment of HLA-G+ regulatory T cells in multiple sclerosis,

ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2009
Yu-Hwa Huang MSci
Objective We have recently described a novel population of natural regulatory T cells (Treg) that are characterized by the expression of HLA-G and may be found at sites of tissue inflammation (HLA-Gpos Treg). Here we studied the role of these cells in multiple sclerosis (MS), a prototypic autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). Methods Sixty-four patients with different types of MS, 9 patients with other neurological diseases, and 20 healthy donors were included in this study. Inflamed brain lesions from 5 additional untreated MS patients were examined. HLA-Gpos Treg were analyzed in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by flow cytometry and in inflammatory demyelinating lesions of MS brain specimens by immunohistochemistry. Functional capacity was accessed and transmigration was determined using an in vitro model of the human blood-brain barrier (BBB). Results HLA-Gpos Treg were found enriched in the inflamed CSF of MS patients and in inflammatory demyelinating lesions of MS brain specimens. HLA-Gpos Treg showed a strong propensity to transmigrate across BBB, which was vigorously driven by inflammatory chemokines, and associated with a gain of suppressive capacity upon transmigration. CSF-derived HLA-Gpos Treg of MS patients represented a population of activated central memory activated T cells with an upregulated expression of inflammatory chemokine receptors and exhibiting full suppressive capacity. Unlike natural FoxP3-expressing Treg, HLA-Gpos Treg derived from peripheral blood were functionally unimpaired in MS. Interpretation In MS, HLA-Gpos Treg may serve to control potentially destructive immune responses directly at the sites of CNS inflammation and to counterbalance inflammation once specifically recruited to the CNS. Ann Neurol 2009 [source]