CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg) are essential for immune homeostasis and maintenance of self-tolerance. They are produced in the thymus and also generated de novo in the periphery in a TGF-β-dependent manner. Foxp3(+) Treg are also required to achieve tolerance to transplanted tissues when induced by coreceptor or costimulation blockade. Using TCR-transgenic mice to avoid issues of aut...

The transcription factor forkhead box protein 3 (FOXP3) is an essential molecular marker of regulatory T cell (Treg) development in different microenvironments. Tregs are cells specialized in the suppression of inadequate immune responses and the maintenance of homeostatic tolerance. Studies have addressed and elucidated the role played by FOXP3 and Treg in countless autoimmune and infectious d...

Costimulatory signals by CD28 are critical for thymic regulatory T-cell (Treg) development. To determine the functional relevance of CD28 for peripheral Treg post thymic selection, we crossed the widely used Forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3)-CreYFP mice to mice bearing a conditional Cd28 allele. Treg-specific CD28 deficiency provoked a severe autoimmune syndrome as a result of a strong disadvantag...

FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a central element of immunological tolerance. FoxP3 is the key determining transcription factor of the Treg lineage, interacting with numerous cofactors and transcriptional targets to determine the many facets of Treg function. Its absence leads to devastating lymphoproliferation and autoimmunity in scurfy mutant mice and immunodysregulation polyendocrinopa...

Antigen stimulation of immune cells activates the transcription factor NFAT, a key regulator of T cell activation and anergy. NFAT forms cooperative complexes with the AP-1 family of transcription factors and regulates T cell activation-associated genes. Here we show that regulatory T cell (Treg) function is mediated by an analogous cooperative complex of NFAT with the forkhead transcription fa...

Regulatory T cells (T reg cells) are a population of CD4+ T cells that limit immune responses. FoxP3 is a master control transcription factor for development and function of these cells, but its regulation is poorly understood. We have identified a T cell receptor-responsive enhancer in the FoxP3 first intron that is dependent on a cyclic-AMP response element binding protein (CREB)/activating t...

Regulatory T cells (Treg) play some important roles in allergic rhinitis. The most specific marker for Treg is FOXP3, a recently identified transcription factor that is essential for Treg development. In order to clarify the levels of Treg in allergic nasal mucosa, we studied the relationship between FOXP3-expressing cells and Th1-Th2 balance in nasal mucosa by means of immunohistochemistry. Hu...

Introduction Patients with primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) were reported to exhibit the evident imbalance between number of Th17 and Treg cells in their peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs), which might be immunological basis disease. Material methods 40 PNS patients 42 healthy individuals recruited this study. FCM assay was used observe levels cells. Results The Treg/Th17 ratio evidently decrea...

Foxp3 is a central control element in the development and function of regulatory T cells (Treg), and mice expressing a diphtheria toxin (DT) receptor-enhanced green fluorescent protein fusion protein under the control of the foxp3 gene locus (DEREG mice) allow conditional and efficient depletion of Foxp3(+) Treg by DT injection. Herein, we use DEREG mice and a mouse model of carcinogenesis to s...

Purpose: The Forkhead Box Protein 3 is highly expressed in regulatory T cells, but also in tumor cells, acting as a transcriptional repressor of breast oncogenes including HER2. We investigated the prognostic significance of Foxp3 expression in cancer cells in a large cohort of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: Foxp3-positive tumo...