Introduction: Most T lymphocytes, including regulatory T cells, express the CD27 costimulatory receptor in steady state conditions. There is evidence that CD27 engagement on conventional T lymphocytes favors the development of Th1 and cytotoxic responses in mice and humans, but the impact on the regulatory lineage is unknown.
Methods: In this report, we examined the effect of constitutive CD27 engagement on both regulatory and conventional CD4 T cells , in the absence of intentional antigenic stimulation.