Expression of CD49f defines subsets of human regulatory T cells with divergent transcriptional landscape and function that correlate with ulcerative colitis disease activity.

Objective: Adoptive regulatory T cell (Treg) therapy is being trialled for the treatment of different autoimmune disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In-depth understanding of the biological variability of Treg in the human blood may be required to improve IBD immune monitoring and treatment strategies.

Methods: Through a combination of quantitative proteomic, multiparametric flow cytometry, RNA-sequencing data analysis and functional assays on Treg enriched from the blood of ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and healthy controls, we investigated the association between CD49f expression, Treg phenotype and function, and UC disease activity.