IL-2-independent and TNF-α-dependent expansion of Vβ5+ natural regulatory T cells during retrovirus infection.

J Immunol

Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.

Published: June 2013

Friend virus infection of mice induces the expansion and activation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) that dampen acute immune responses and promote the establishment and maintenance of chronic infection. Adoptive transfer experiments and the expression of neuropilin-1 indicate that these cells are predominantly natural Tregs rather than virus-specific conventional CD4(+) T cells that converted into induced Tregs. Analysis of Treg TCR Vβ chain usage revealed a broadly distributed polyclonal response with a high proportionate expansion of the Vβ5(+) Treg subset, which is known to be responsive to endogenous retrovirus-encoded superantigens. In contrast to the major population of Tregs, the Vβ5(+) subset expressed markers of terminally differentiated effector cells, and their expansion was associated with the level of the antiviral CD8(+) T cell response rather than the level of Friend virus infection. Surprisingly, the expansion and accumulation of the Vβ5(+) Tregs was IL-2 independent but dependent on TNF-α. These experiments reveal a subset-specific Treg induction by a new pathway.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3739475PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1202951DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

expansion vβ5+
8
regulatory cells
8
friend virus
8
virus infection
8
expansion
5
cells
5
tregs
5
il-2-independent tnf-α-dependent
4
tnf-α-dependent expansion
4
vβ5+
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!