BACKGROUND Increased activation and increased survival of T lymphocytes characterise bronchial asthma. OBJECTIVES In this study the effect of budesonide on T cell survival, on inducible co-stimulator T cells (ICOS), on Foxp3 and on IL-10 molecules in T lymphocyte sub-populations was assessed. METHODS Cell survival (by annexin V binding) and ICOS in total lymphocytes, in CD4+/CD25+ and in CD...

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (TR) cells have been described in both humans and mice. In mice, TR are thymically derived, and lack of TR leads to organ-specific autoimmunity. Recently, the forkhead/winged helix transcription factor, FoxP3, has been shown to be important for the function of TR cells in mice. In this study, human TR cells were examined and, in results similar to those of studies done in...

Naturally occurring CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells are engaged in the maintenance of immunological self-tolerance and down-regulation of various immune responses. Recent studies with mice showed that Foxp3, which encodes the transcription factor Scurfin, is a master regulatory gene for the development and function of CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells. Here we examined the role of FOXP3 in huma...

Despite the fact that CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Treg cells) play a central role in maintaining self-tolerance and that IL-17-producing CD4(+) T cells (Th17 cells) are pathogenic in many autoimmune diseases, evidence to date has indicated that Th17 cells are resistant to suppression by human Foxp3(+) Treg cells. It was recently demonstrated that CD39, an ectonucleotidase which hy...

BACKGROUND We showed previously that α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) treatment elevated splenic CD4+ CD25+Foxp3+ T-cell numbers and suppressed the development of experimental allergic conjunctivitis (EC). Here, we investigated whether CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells mediate the suppressive effects of α-GalCer treatment on EC. METHODS To deplete CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells, neonatal mice were thymectomize...

BACKGROUND CD4+CD25+ regulatory T-cells (Tregs) play a critical role in immune responses. We explored the status of Tregs in neoplastic and autoimmune hematologic diseases. We also evaluated the technical aspects of Treg measurement in terms of sample type and detection markers. METHODS A total of 68 subjects were enrolled: 11 with AML, 8 with MDS, 10 with autoimmune diseases, and 39 controls...

Broad T cell depletion has been used as an integral part of treatment in transplantation and autoimmune diseases. Following depletion, residual T cells undergo homeostatic proliferation and convert to memory-like T cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of T cell depletion by antilymphocyte serum (ALS), a polyclonal anti-T cell Ab, on CD4(+) regulatory T cells. After ALS treatment, CD...

Investigation of the role of regulatory T cells (Treg) in model systems is facilitated by their depletion using anti-CD25 Abs, but there has been considerable debate about the effectiveness of this strategy. In this study, we have compared the depletion and repopulation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg in uninfected and malaria-infected mice using 7D4 and/or PC61 anti-CD25 Abs. We find that numbers and ...

Stroke is a common, debilitating trauma that has an incompletely elucidated pathophysiology and lacks an effective therapy. FoxP3(+)CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress a variety of normal physiological and pathological immune responses via several pathways, such as inhibitory cytokine secretion, direct cytolysis induction, and antigen-presenting cell functional modulation. FoxP3(+...

OBJECTIVE Increasing evidence shows that autoimmune response contributes importantly to pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This work was aimed to assess the possibly altered function of peripheral CD4(+)CD25(+) T regulatory cells (Tregs) that might breakdown immunologic self-tolerance in AAA patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Peripheral blood from 22 AAA patients, 11 patients with ab...