Viral antigen induces differentiation of Foxp3+ natural regulatory T cells in influenza virus-infected mice.

ABSTRACT: We examined the formation, participation, and functional specialization of virus-reactive Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) in a mouse model of influenza virus infection. "Natural" Tregs generated intrathymically, based on interactions with a self-peptide, proliferated in response to a homologous viral Ag in the lungs and, to a lesser extent, in the lung-draining mediastinal lymph nodes (medLNs) of virus-infected mice. In contrast, conventional CD4(+) T cells with identical TCR specificity underwent little or no conversion to become "adaptive" Tregs. The virus-reactive Tregs in the medLNs and the lungs of infected mice upregulated a variety of molecules associated with Treg activation, as well as acquired expression of molecules (T-bet, Blimp-1, and IL-10) that confer functional speciali

SUBMITTER: Bedoya F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3703618 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature