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Stefano Scabeni, Marilena Lapilla, Silvia Musio, Barbara Gallo, Emilio Ciusani, Lawrence Steinman, Renato Mantegazza, Rosetta Pedotti, CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells Specific for a Thymus-Expressed Antigen Prevent the Development of Anaphylaxis to Self, The Journal of Immunology, Volume 180, Issue 7, April 2008, Pages 4433–4440, https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.180.7.4433
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Abstract
A role for CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the control of allergic diseases has been postulated. We developed a mouse model in which anaphylaxis is induced in SJL mice by immunization and challenge with the fragment of self myelin proteolipid protein (PLP)139–151, that is not expressed in the thymus, but not with fragment 178–191 of the same protein, that is expressed in the thymus. In this study, we show that resistance to anaphylaxis is associated with naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ Tregs specific for the self peptide expressed in the thymus. These cells increase Foxp3 expression upon Ag stimulation and suppress peptide-induced proliferation of CD4+CD25− effector T cells. Depletion of Tregs with anti-CD25 in vivo significantly diminished resistance to anaphylaxis to PLP178–191, suggesting an important role for CD4+CD25+ Tregs in preventing the development of allergic responses to this thymus-expressed peptide. These data indicate that naturally occurring CD4+CD25+ Tregs specific for a peptide expressed under physiological conditions in the thymus are able to suppress the development of a systemic allergic reaction to self.