Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Peripheral tolerance to allogeneic organ grafts can be induced in rodents by treating with non-depleting CD4 and CD8 monoclonal antibodies. This tolerance is maintained by CD4+ T cells with a potent capacity to induce tolerance in further cohorts of T cells (i.e. infectious tolerance). We have cloned CD4+ T-cell subsets against the male transplantation antigen in vitro and find, in contrast to Th1 or Th2 clones that elicit rejection, that there is a distinct population of CD4+ T cells that suppress rejection by adoptive transfer (here called Treg). In order to identify molecular markers associated with tolerance and gain insights into the mechanisms of action of Treg cells, we carried out serial analysis of gene expression. We identified genes overexpressed in Treg compared to Th1 and Th2 cultures and found that some of these correlated in vivo with CD4-induced transplantation tolerance rather than rejection. The genes overexpressed in Treg cultures and within tolerated skin grafts were primarily expressed by mast cells (e.g. tryptophan hydroxylase and FcepsilonR1alpha), suggesting that regulatory cell activity and this form of tolerance may be associated with a localised but non-destructive form of Th2-like activation and a recruitment of mast cells.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Immunol Rev

Publication Date

08/2001

Volume

182

Pages

164 - 179

Keywords

Animals, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Graft Rejection, Humans, Mast Cells, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Models, Animal, Sex Characteristics, Skin Transplantation, T-Lymphocyte Subsets, Th1 Cells, Th2 Cells, Transplantation Tolerance