| First Author | Gückel E | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | PLoS One | Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | e20003 |
| PubMed ID | 21625598 | Mgi Jnum | J:172577 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5008325 | Doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0020003 |
| Citation | Guckel E, et al. (2011) Cell-Intrinsic NF-kappaB Activation Is Critical for the Development of Natural Regulatory T Cells in Mice. PLoS One 6(5):e20003 |
| abstractText | BACKGROUND: Naturally occurring CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T (Treg) cells develop in the thymus and represent a mature T cell subpopulation critically involved in maintaining peripheral tolerance. The differentiation of Treg cells in the thymus requires T cell receptor (TCR)/CD28 stimulation along with cytokine-promoted Foxp3 induction. TCR-mediated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) activation seems to be involved in differentiation of Treg cells because deletion of components of the NF-kappaB signaling pathway, as well as of NF-kappaB transcription factors, leads to markedly decreased Treg cell numbers in thymus and periphery. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To investigate if Treg cell-intrinsic NF-kappaB activation is required for thymic development and peripheral homeostasis of Treg cells we used transgenic (Tg) mice with thymocyte-specific expression of a stable IkappaBalpha mutant to inhibit NF-kappaB activation solely within the T cell lineage. Here we show that Treg cell-intrinsic NF-kappaB activation is important for the generation of cytokine-responsive Foxp3(-) thymic Treg precursors and their further differentiation into mature Treg cells. Treg cell development could neither be completely rescued by the addition of exogenous Interleukin 2 (IL-2) nor by the presence of wild-type derived cells in adoptive transfer experiments. However, peripheral NF-kappaB activation appears to be required for IL-2 production by conventional T cells, thereby participating in Treg cell homeostasis. Moreover, pharmacological NF-kappaB inhibition via the IkappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta) inhibitor AS602868 led to markedly diminished thymic and peripheral Treg cell frequencies. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results indicate that Treg cell-intrinsic NF-kappaB activation is essential for thymic Treg cell differentiation, and further suggest pharmacological NF-kappaB inhibition as a potential therapeutic approach for manipulating this process. |
