International Immunology Advance Access published online on February 13, 2008
International Immunology, doi:10.1093/intimm/dxn007
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CTLA-4·Ig converts naive CD4+CD25– T cells into CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
Correspondence to: Correspondence to: M. L. Tykocinski; E-mail: mlt4{at}mail.med.upen.edu
CTLA-4·Ig was originally designed as an immunosuppressive agent capable of interfering with the co-stimulation of T cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that CTLA-4·Ig, in combination with TCR ligation, has the additional capacity to convert naive CD4+CD25– T cells into Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells, as well as to expand their numbers. The CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg generated by CTLA-4·Ig treatment in vitro potently suppress effector T cells. Extending this in vivo, we show that systemic administration of CTLA-4·Ig increases the percentage of CD4+CD25hiFoxp3+ cells within mixed lymphocyte reaction-induced murine lymph nodes. Significantly, the in vitro conversion of naive CD4+CD25– T cells into Treg cells is antigen-presenting cell (APC) dependent. This finding, together with the further observation that this conversion can also be driven in vitro by an antibody that engages B7-2 ligand, suggests that CTLA-4·Ig-driven Treg induction may be predicated upon active CTLA-4·Ig to B7-2 signaling within APC, which elicits from them Treg-inducing potential. These findings extend CTLA-4·Ig's functional repertoire, and at the same time, reinforce the concept that T cell anergy and active suppression are not entirely distinct processes and may be linked by some common molecular triggers.
Keywords: co-stimulation, CTLA-4·Ig, regulatory T cells
Transmitting editor: W. Strober
Received 31 August 2007, accepted 7 January 2008.