1. Identification of a CD4+ T cell line with Treg-like activity
- Author
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Ho, Thai H., Pfeffer, Kirsten, Weiss, Glen J., Ruiz, Yvette, and Lake, Douglas F.
- Subjects
CD4 Antigens ,Immunology ,Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ,Leukocytes, Mononuclear ,Humans ,Immunology and Allergy ,Forkhead Transcription Factors ,General Medicine ,T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ,Article ,B7-H1 Antigen ,Cell Line ,Cell Proliferation - Abstract
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress adaptive immunity and inflammation. Although they play a role in suppressing anti-tumor responses, development of therapeutics that target Tregs is limited by their low abundance, heterogeneity, and lack of specific cell surface markers. We isolated human PBMC-derived CD4(+) CD25(high) Foxp3(+) Tregs and demonstrate they suppress stimulated CD4(+) PBMCs in a cell contact-dependent manner. Because it is not possible to functionally characterize cells after intracellular Foxp3 staining, we identified a human T cell line, MoT, as a model of human Foxp3(+) Tregs. Unlike Jurkat T cells, MoT cells share common surface markers consistent with human PBMC-derived Tregs such as: CD4, CD25, GITR, LAG-3, PD-L1, CCR4. PBMC-derived Tregs and MoT cells, but not Jurkat cells, inhibited proliferation of human CD4(+) PBMCs in a ratio-dependent manner. Transwell membrane separation prevented suppression of stimulated CD4(+) PBMC proliferation by MoT cells and Tregs, suggesting cell-cell contact is required for suppressive activity. Blocking antibodies against PD-L1, LAG-3, GITR, CCR4, HLA-DR, or CTLA-4 did not reverse the suppressive activity. We show that human PBMC-derived Tregs and MoT cells suppress stimulated CD4(+) PBMCs in a cell contact-dependent manner, suggesting that a Foxp3(+) Treg population suppresses immune responses by an uncharacterized cell contact-dependent mechanism.
- Published
- 2022
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