| First Author | Zhao J | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 208 |
| Issue | 8 | Pages | 1571-7 |
| PubMed ID | 21746812 | Mgi Jnum | J:177608 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5295544 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20110236 |
| Citation | Zhao J, et al. (2011) IFN-gamma- and IL-10-expressing virus epitope-specific Foxp3(+) T reg cells in the central nervous system during encephalomyelitis. J Exp Med 208(8):1571-7 |
| abstractText | Foxp3(+) CD4 regulatory T cells (T reg cells) are important in limiting immunopathology in infections. However, identifying pathogen-specific epitopes targeted by these cells has been elusive. Using MHC class II/peptide tetramers and intracellular cytokine staining, we identify T reg cells recognizing two virus-specific CD4 T cell epitopes in the coronavirus-infected central nervous system as well as naive T cell precursor pools. These T reg cells are detected at the same time as effector T cells (T eff cells) exhibiting the same specificity and can suppress T eff cell proliferation after stimulation with cognate peptide. These virus-specific T reg cells may be especially effective in inhibiting the immune response during the peak of infection, when virus antigen is maximal. Furthermore, these T reg cells express both IL-10 and IFN-gamma after peptide stimulation. IFN-gamma expression is maintained during both acute and chronic phases of infection. Identification of T reg cell target epitopes by cytokine production is also applicable in autoimmune disease because myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-specific Foxp3(+) T reg cells express IL-10 and IL-17 at the peak of disease in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These results show that pathogen epitope-specific Foxp3(+) T reg cells can be identified on the basis of cytokine production. |
