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Regulatory T cells

Practise makes perfect

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 12, pages 4–5 (2012)Cite this article

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as well as possessing memory T cells that protect us against previously encountered pathogens, the immune system appears to have memory TReg cells that limit immunopathological responses

The authors developed a transgenic mouse system in which ovalbumin (OVA) is expressed continuously in the thymus and can be specifically upregulated in the skin following the administration of doxycycline. These mice were crossed with DO11.10 mice, which have CD4+ T cells that express an OVA-specific T cell receptor, to create triple-transgenic mice. The triple-transgenic mice contained large populations of OVA-specific forkhead box P3 (FOXP3)+ TReg cells, both in the thymus and in skin-draining lymph nodes. Despite this, when OVA expression was induced in the skin, these animals developed inflammatory dermatitis. The disease peaked at 10–14 days after doxycycline administration and was characterized by the infiltration into the inflamed skin of myeloid cells and of OVA-specific T cells that produced interferon-γ (IFNγ) and interleukin-17 (IL-17). Interestingly, the disease spontaneously resolved within 40–60 days, despite continuous doxycycline treatment. Thus, the OVA-specific TReg cells seemed powerless to prevent the development of disease — but were they involved in resolving it?

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Rosenblum, M. D. et al. Response to self antigen imprints regulatory memory in tissues. Nature 27 Nov 2011 (doi:10.1038/nature10664)

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  1. Yvonne Bordon
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Bordon, Y. Practise makes perfect. Nat Rev Immunol 12, 4–5 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri3135

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