| First Author | Knoechel B | Year | 2005 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 202 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 1375-86 |
| PubMed ID | 16287710 | Mgi Jnum | J:118848 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3700462 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20050855 |
| Citation | Knoechel B, et al. (2005) Sequential development of interleukin 2-dependent effector and regulatory T cells in response to endogenous systemic antigen. J Exp Med 202(10):1375-86 |
| abstractText | Transfer of naive antigen-specific CD4(+) T cells into lymphopenic mice that express an endogenous antigen as a systemic, secreted protein results in severe autoimmunity resembling graft-versus-host disease. T cells that respond to this endogenous antigen develop into effector cells that cause the disease. Recovery from this disease is associated with the subsequent generation of FoxP3(+)CD25(+) regulatory cells in the periphery. Both pathogenic effector cells and protective regulatory cells develop from the same antigen-specific T cell population after activation, and their generation may occur in parallel or sequentially. Interleukin (IL)-2 plays a dual role in this systemic T cell reaction. In the absence of IL-2, the acute disease is mild because of reduced T cell effector function, but a chronic and progressive disease develops late and is associated with a failure to generate FoxP3(+) regulatory T (T reg) cells in the periphery. Thus, a peripheral T cell reaction to a systemic antigen goes through a phase of effector cell-mediated pathology followed by T reg cell-mediated recovery, and both require the growth factor IL-2. |