The level and activity of the forkhead family transcription factor FOXP3 determine the immune function of FOXP3+Tregs. At the beginning of infectious processes, FOXP3+Tregs may regulate effector immune cell responses and lead to failure to control infection. FOXP3+Tregs may also help to limit collateral tissue damage when the antiviral immune responses are too vigorous. Understanding the regula...

Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain self-tolerance and adoptive therapy, and using Foxp3(+) Tregs has been proposed as treatment for autoimmune diseases. The clinical use of Tregs will require large numbers of cells and methods for in vitro expansion of Tregs are being developed. Foxp3(+) Tregs can be divided into 2 subpopulations based on expression of the transcription factor, Helios...

Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3)-positive T cells are a specialized T cell subset for immune regulation and tolerance. We investigated the trafficking receptor switches of FoxP3(+) T cells in thymus and secondary lymphoid tissues and the functional consequences of these switches in migration. We found that FoxP3(+) T cells undergo two discrete developmental switches in trafficking receptors to migrate f...

Foxp3 regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain self-tolerance and adoptive therapy, and using Foxp3 Tregs has been proposed as treatment for autoimmune diseases. The clinical use of Tregs will require large numbers of cells and methods for in vitro expansion of Tregs are being developed. Foxp3 Tregs can be divided into 2 subpopulations based on expression of the transcription factor, Helios. Foxp3 H...

CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) regulate disease-associated immunity and excessive inflammatory responses, and numbers of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) Tregs are increased during malaria infection. The mechanisms governing their generation, however, remain to be elucidated. In this study we investigated the role of commonly accepted factors for Foxp3 induction, TCR stimulation and cyto...

The human CD4(+)FOXP3(+) T cell population is heterogeneous and consists of various subpopulations which remain poorly defined. Anergy and suppression are two main functional characteristics of FOXP3(+)Treg cells. We used the anergic behavior of FOXP3(+)Treg cells for a better discrimination and characterization of such subpopulations. We compared IL-2-expressing with IL-2-non-expressing cells ...

While natural CD4(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T (nT(REG)) cells have long been viewed as a stable and distinct lineage that is committed to suppressive functions in vivo, recent evidence supporting this notion remains highly controversial. We sought to determine whether Foxp3 expression and the nT(REG) cell phenotype are stable in vivo and modulated by the inflammatory microenvironment. Here, we show...

1. Abstract 2. The Fox family of transcription factors 3. Fox Family Members in the Immune System 3.1. FoxD1/2 3.2. FoxN1 3.3. FoxJ1 3.4. FoxO 4. Discovery of the FoxP subfamily 5. Role of FOXP subfamily members in human disease 6. FoxP3: the black sheep of the FoxP subfamily 6.1 Identification of FoxP3 6.2. FoxP3 function 6.3. Role of transcriptional co-repressors in FoxP function 6.4. Structu...

CD4(+) T cells that express the transcription factor FOXP3 (FOXP3(+) T cells) are commonly regarded as immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs). FOXP3(+) T cells are reported to be increased in tumor-bearing patients or animals and are considered to suppress antitumor immunity, but the evidence is often contradictory. In addition, accumulating evidence indicates that FOXP3 is induced by ant...