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Expansion of regulatory GITR+CD25low/-CD4+ T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

TitoloExpansion of regulatory GITR+CD25low/-CD4+ T cells in systemic lupus erythematosus patients
Tipo di pubblicazioneArticolo su Rivista peer-reviewed
Anno di Pubblicazione2014
AutoriNocentini, Giuseppe, Alunno Alessia, Petrillo Maria Grazia, Bistoni Onelia, Bartoloni Elena, Caterbi Sara, Ronchetti Simona, Migliorati Graziella, Riccardi Carlo, and Gerli Roberto
RivistaArthritis Research and Therapy
Volume16
Paginazione1 – 15
Type of ArticleArticle
ISSN14786354
Parole chiaveadult, article, blood, CD4+ T lymphocyte, cell contact, Cell expansion, cell isolation, cell population, cell proliferation, clinical article, controlled study, cytology, cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4, Female, Flow cytometry, glucocorticoid induced tumor necrosis factor receptor, Glucocorticoid-Induced TNFR-Related Protein, human, human cell, Humans, IL2RA protein, immune response, immunology, Immunophenotyping, interleukin 10, interleukin 2 receptor alpha, Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit, Lupus Erythematosus, Lymphocyte Count, male, metabolism, Middle Aged, peripheral blood mononuclear cell, Phenotype, Regulatory, regulatory T lymphocyte, Systemic, systemic lupus erythematosus, T-Lymphocytes, Tnfrsf18 protein, transcription factor FOXP3, transforming growth factor beta
Abstract

Introduction: CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ T lymphocytes expressing forkhead box protein P3 (FoxP3) and showing regulatory activity have been recently described in healthy donors. The objective of the study was to evaluate the proportion of CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ T lymphocytes within CD4+ T cells and compare their phenotypic and functional profile with that of CD4+CD25highGITR- T lymphocytes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Methods: The percentage of CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ cells circulating in the peripheral blood (PB) of 32 patients with SLE and 25 healthy controls was evaluated with flow cytometry. CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ cells were isolated with magnetic separation, and their phenotype was compared with that of CD4+CD25highGITR- cells. Regulatory activity of both cell subsets was tested in autologous and heterologous co-cultures after purification through a negative sorting strategy. Results: Results indicated that CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ cells are expanded in the PB of 50% of SLE patients. Expansion was observed only in patients with inactive disease. Phenotypic analysis demonstrated that CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ cells display regulatory T-cell (Treg) markers, including FoxP3, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), and interleukin (IL)-10. In contrast, CD4+CD25highGITR- cells appear to be activated and express low levels of Treg markers. Functional experiments demonstrated that CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ cells exert a higher inhibitory activity against both autologous and heterologous cells as compared with CD4+CD25highGITR- cells. Suppression is independent of cell contact and is mediated by IL-10 and TGF-β. Conclusions: Phenotypic and functional data demonstrate that in SLE patients, CD4+CD25low/-GITR+ cells are fully active Treg cells, possibly representing peripheral Treg (pTreg) that are expanded in patients with inactive disease. These data may suggest a key role of this T-cell subset in the modulation of the abnormal immune response in SLE. Strategies aimed at expanding this Treg subset for therapeutic purpose deserve to be investigated. © 2014 Nocentini et al.

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Cited by: 38; All Open Access, Gold Open Access, Green Open Access

URLhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84990882590&doi=10.1186%2fs13075-014-0444-x&partnerID=40&md5=084f63ba8f87b3049ff950053538ad1c
DOI10.1186/s13075-014-0444-x
Citation KeyNocentini20141
PubMed ID25256257