Superantigen-Induced Regulatory T Cells Display Different Suppressive Functions in the Presence or Absence of Natural CD4(+)CD25(+) Regulatory T Cells In Vivo.

Summary, in English

Repeated exposures to both microbial and innocuous Ags in vivo have been reported to both eliminate and tolerize T cells after their initial activation and expansion. The remaining tolerant T cells have been shown to suppress the response of naive T cells in vitro. This feature is reminiscent of natural CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. However, it is not known whether the regulatory function of in vivo-tolerized T cells is similar to the function of natural CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. In this study, we demonstrate that CD4+CD25+ as well as CD4+CD25- T cells isolated from mice treated with superantigen three consecutive times to induce tolerance were functionally comparable to natural CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells, albeit more potent. The different subpopulations of in vivo-tolerized CD4+ T cells efficiently down-modulated costimulatory molecules on dendritic cells, and their suppressive functions were strictly cell contact dependent. Importantly, we demonstrate that conventional CD4+CD25- T cells could also be induced to acquire regulatory functions by the same regimen in the absence of natural regulatory T cells in vivo, but that such regulatory cells were functionally different.

• Author: Susanna Grundström; Lukas Cederbom; Anette Sundstedt; Peter Scheipers; Fredrik Ivars
• Department/s: Immunology
• Publishing year: 2003
• Language: English
• Pages: 5008-5017
• Publication/Series: Journal of Immunology
• Volume: 170
• Issue: 10
• Links: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12734345&dopt=Abstract
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: American Association of Immunologists
• Topic: Immunology in the medical area
• Status: Published
• Research group: Immunology
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1550-6606