| First Author | Levine AG | Year | 2017 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 214 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 609-622 |
| PubMed ID | 28130403 | Mgi Jnum | J:241076 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5897703 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20161318 |
| Citation | Levine AG, et al. (2017) Suppression of lethal autoimmunity by regulatory T cells with a single TCR specificity. J Exp Med 214(3):609-622 |
| abstractText | The regulatory T cell (T reg cell) T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is highly diverse and skewed toward recognition of self-antigens. TCR expression by T reg cells is continuously required for maintenance of immune tolerance and for a major part of their characteristic gene expression signature; however, it remains unknown to what degree diverse TCR-mediated interactions with cognate self-antigens are required for these processes. In this study, by experimentally switching the T reg cell TCR repertoire to a single T reg cell TCR, we demonstrate that T reg cell function and gene expression can be partially uncoupled from TCR diversity. An induced switch of the T reg cell TCR repertoire to a random repertoire also preserved, albeit to a limited degree, the ability to suppress lymphadenopathy and T helper cell type 2 activation. At the same time, these perturbations of the T reg cell TCR repertoire led to marked immune cell activation, tissue inflammation, and an ultimately severe autoimmunity, indicating the importance of diversity and specificity for optimal T reg cell function. |
