BioProject

Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) expressing the forkhead family transcription factor Foxp3 are critical mediators of dominant immune tolerance to self. More...

Regulatory T cells (Treg cells) expressing the forkhead family transcription factor Foxp3 are critical mediators of dominant immune tolerance to self. Most Treg cells constitutively express the high-affinity interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptor alpha-chain (CD25); however, the precise function of IL-2 in Treg cell biology has remained controversial. To directly assess the effect of IL-2 signaling on Treg cell development and function, we analyzed mice containing the Foxp3gfp knock-in allele that were genetically deficient in either IL-2 (Il2-/-) or CD25 (Il2ra-/-). We found that IL-2 signaling was dispensable for the induction of Foxp3 expression in thymocytes from these mice, which indicated that IL-2 signaling does not have a nonredundant function in the development of Treg cells. Unexpectedly, Il2-/- and Il2ra-/- Treg cells were fully able to suppress T cell proliferation in vitro. In contrast, Foxp3 was not expressed in thymocytes or peripheral T cells from Il2rg-/- mice. Gene expression analysis showed that IL-2 signaling was required for maintenance of the expression of genes involved in the regulation of cell growth and metabolism. Thus, IL-2 signaling seems to be critically required for maintaining the homeostasis and competitive fitness of Treg cells in vivo. Keywords: cell type comparison Overall design: We isolated Foxp3+ CD4+ T cells from Il2-/- mice treated with PBS or recombinant IL-2 for gene expression analysis using whole-genome oligonucleotide microarrays. To identify gene expression changes resulting from IL-2 deficiency and subsequent IL-2 stimulation in Treg cells, we directly compared expression profiles with each other and with expression profiles of Foxp3+ CD4+ T cells isolated from wild-type mice. Less...