Long-term engraftment of human natural T regulatory cells in NOD/SCID IL2rγc(null) mice by expression of human IL-2.

ABSTRACT: Regulatory T cells are essential to maintain immune homeostasis and prevent autoimmunity. Therapy with in vitro expanded human nT(Regs) is being tested to prevent graft versus host disease, which is a major cause for morbidity and mortality associated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Their usefulness in therapy will depend on their capacity to survive, migrate appropriately and retain suppressive activity when introduced into a transplant recipient. The lack of a suitable animal model for studying the in vivo reconstitutive capability of human nT(Regs) is a major impediment for investigating the behavior of adoptively transferred nT(Regs)in vivo. We show that injection of a plasmid encoding human IL-2 is necessary and sufficient for long term engraftment of in vitro expanded n

SUBMITTER: Abraham S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3525660 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature